


Nothing's Fair in Love and War

by HisAsgardianAngel



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Asgard (Marvel), Evil Nick Fury, F/M, Frigga Lives, Good Loki, Hurt Tony Stark, Jotunn | Frost Giant, Jötunn Loki, Loki Does What He Wants, Loki's Kids, Loki-centric, Miscarriage, Miðgarðr | Midgard, Odin's A+ Parenting, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Thor (2011), Pre-Thor: The Dark World, Protective Loki, Protective Thor, Protective Tony Stark, Sneaky Frigga, Thor Is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Twins, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-03
Updated: 2015-09-03
Packaged: 2018-04-18 21:14:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 67,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4720670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HisAsgardianAngel/pseuds/HisAsgardianAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki is reforming plans to take over Midgard when he meets Britney, a quirky intern with a knack for mischief. But what happens when Loki's plans blow up in his face and put the love of this life in danger and his brothers love life in jeopardy? Will he destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. and take his rightful place as king, or will the only thing good about his life be taken from him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Family Ties

*I'm sorry this chapter is so weird, I was just having a hard time getting started. I promise this story will have a far better plot than all this randomness, I have it all planned out. Thanks for reading :)

Loki had been at it again. He had gone to Midgard with no other purpose than to conquer it, feeling it would be the easiest of the nine realms considering the only humans he'd interacted with had been utter buffoons. When he stepped off of the bifrost and into this new realm he nearly gagged. There was a rather large restaurant before him, the name glowing from it's neon lights in the darkness.

"Thor's Thundering Chicken…Oh for Gods sake please tell me these pitiful Midgardians don't worship my idiot brother as well." He spat, folding his arms and staring spitefully at the building. He could hear the bifrost reopening behind him and he turned around.

"What's there not to worship?" Thor asked with a dashing smile.

"Speak of the devil, you really are obsessed with me, brother, it isn't healthy." They narrowed their eyes at each other and Thor stepped closer.

"What I'm obsessed with is making sure you don't cause anyone anymore harm. I'm taking you back to your cell, Loki. I wish it could be different." Loki shoved him away.

"No you don't, don't pretend to be my loving and concerned family. We're not brothers, we never were." Hurt flashed across Thor's features, but he remained stoic.

"I don't believe that. No matter what Loki, Odin is your father, he rescued you!" Loki sneered.

"You think he did that for me? He is not my father!" He bellowed, using all of his strength to knock Thor into the side of the restaurant. They wrestled for a few moments, Thor bashing Loki's head into the brick so hard that the already dented and crumbling brick caved in and the superhuman pair tumbled into the restaurant, Loki landing on top and giving his brother a nice hard punch to the nose. Thor let out an ear-splitting yell and punched Loki straight off of him, his back smacking against the un-damaged portion of the wall. A girl with thick waist length brunette waves, molten gray eyes and spontaneously dusted freckles, ran from a back room to assess the situation.

"What the hell is going on out here?!" She demanded, storming over to the hole in the wall until she noticed the two men. The wind was knocked out of her as her eyes fell upon the long blonde locks of Thor and the size of his hammer.

"U-Um…." She wanted to ask the beautiful stranger what in the world he thought he was doing but she seemed to only be able to find one word.

"Daddy!" Thor and Loki looked at each other quickly and since he was the silver-tongued brother, Loki stood up and dusted himself off.

"Please, Miss, that won't be necessary." The young woman, who appeared to be a waitress, wasn't having any of it.

"Daddy!" She screamed again. Loki's soothing façade drained away and he glared at her.

"Shut up you mewling quim, if you would just allow me to explain—" The bitter sound of Loki's voice sputtered off as he was interrupted by a large man barreling toward them.

"What did you just call my daughter?!" Loki smirked, amusement flooding his eyes.

"I called her what she is. A mewling quim." Thor noticed the man's confusion and he innocently added "I believe in this realm it translates into noisy…what's the word…cunt?" The girl tried to stop her father, but was unable as he landed a jab to Thor's stomach. He immediately recoiled, having hurt his hand far more than he'd hurt Thor, and Loki burst into a cackle.

"Dare you hit a God?" The girl seemed to snap out of her speechlessness and put her arm on her fathers shoulder.

"It's okay, dad, they are obviously mentally challenged. We will take you to the hospital for your hand, and then for those two I'm not sure whether to call the cops or a mental facility…" Her father's face became increasingly red.

"The cops, Emily! They knocked our wall in!" Emily sighed.

"Yes, dad, but the greasy looking one thinks they're gods…I think they seriously need our help." Loki opened his mouth as if to defend himself as not being greasy, but there was yet another interruption as a petite pixie like girl stepped through the wreckage.

"Um…I was gunna use the door but…yeah. You got any Thunder sauce? You know I like to keep packets of it in my purse." Everything that had just happened was momentarily erased from Loki's mind as he eyed the girl. He admired her apparent apathy and how she demanded something the moment she entered. His eyes then lingered on the perfectly curled strands of honey locks that rested at her breasts and her deep chocolate brown eyes.

"Britney! Seriously? Do you not even care that there is a gaping hole in our wall, what is wrong with you?!" She shrugged as she turned her playful gaze to the men standing with her friend.

"You haven't like…hurt my best friend or anything have you? Because you two may be hot but I will go Donkey Kong on your asses if—" Thor held up his hand as if to silence her.

"We meant no harm to the maiden…" It was as if Emily had just noticed Thor's accent, that or the fact that he'd called her a maiden, but no sooner were the words out of his mouth that she fainted. Thor's eyebrows knitted together in worry and he bent down to help her.

"Are you alright, Maiden?" Emily's father attempted to stop him from touching her, hitting him with his already injured hand and crying out again. Britney tried her hardest not to laugh, watching her friends father cry a little and then turning her attention to the other man that she hadn't really had time to fully notice. He was pinching the bridge of his nose in what appeared to her as shame and exasperation.

"I am surrounded by idiots." She curled her hair around her finger, admiring his own accent and his perfect shoulder-length black hair.

"I love The Lion King." Loki's hand fell from his face and he shot her an incredulous look.

"Excuse me? What in the seven hells is a Lion King?" Britney blushed and immediately looked at the floor.

"Um…I-I'm sorry, I thought you were making a reference to this movie…" Loki wasn't exactly sure how to react, normally a woman's blabbering would be annoying to him, but this one was different for some reason. She intrigued him.

"I'm not sure what a movie is, but this Lion King…he's the king of this realm, yes? Where can I find him?" She laughed gently and it sounded like bells to the God.

"You don't have movies where you're from? And what do you mean, realm? You speak like you're straight out of one of my mythology books." She then eyed his outfit and looked over at Thor, who was still staring intently and the unconscious Emily.

"Are you guys cosplaying?" It was Loki's turn to laugh, which gave Britney goose bumps.

"And you think I speak strangely, my fair one? I don't know what that is either, your realm of Midgard seems to differ greatly from Asgard, where I'm from." Emily's eyes fluttered open and she sat up, looking dead seriously at Britney.

"I was just telling my father that they were mad…they think they're Norse Gods." Instead of seeming worried, like Emily was sure her friend should be, Britney looked nothing short of excited.

"You mean like Odin and Thor?" Loki grinned wide like a Cheshire Cat.

"Who needs Odin and Thor when you can be the God of mischief? The names Loki." He purred, kissing the back of her hand. A blush crept up her face, but before she could respond Emily's father cleared his throat.

"Britney Alaine, your father would die if he knew you were fraternizing with such a man! Get away from him, I'm calling the police." Loki sighed.

"Don't believe I'm a God? Fine, allow me to demonstrate." Loki made his staff materialize into his hand and Thor stood up, pulling Emily up with him and growling.

"Loki don't!" Thor wrapped his arms around Emily in a protective stance as Loki shot a beam from his staff just above their heads. Loki let out another airy laugh.

"What? I wasn't going to harm her." Britney snickered too and Loki looked back her with a grin, pleased that he'd seemed to impress her.

"I like this one, she doesn't seem to have a stick up her arse." Emily's father took a shaky breath as if to calm himself.

"L-Look…if you leave now, I promise not to call the police. Please, leave my daughter alone and go." Loki shrugged and turned to Britney.

"You. Come, follow me." Britney didn't hesitate to follow the stranger, whispering that she was sorry to Emily and her father but she just had to go. Thor looked apologetically at Emily.

"I'm so sorry about this, I'll pay for the damages…it's just that…I have to stop Loki. I know he's got an awful plan for this realm, I only want to protect your people." He promised, beginning to win Emily over as she felt a twinge of giddiness in her heart.

"We have to get Britney away from him then." She said slowly, all of it still processing in her brain.

"I'm not so sure about that actually…I know that she's your friend, but maybe if she gets close to Loki he'll tell her his plan. And she'd tell you right?" Emily snorted.

"Of course, we're besties." Thor nodded and smiled.

"Good. And don't worry, I know my brother. I haven't seen that look in his eyes before, he'll treat her well enough." That made Emily a little uncomfortable but she went with it, Britney followed her heart over her head, but she was an overall smart girl.

Meanwhile Britney was a little uncomfortable walking aimlessly along with the so called god of mischief. He was gorgeous, lean but muscular, and that hair…oh that hair. She didn't really know how to interact with him, but she desperately wanted too. Loki was feeling the same way, unable to sort out exactly what this newfound attraction meant to him. He found her very attractive and amusing, but was he capable of love after everything that he'd done? He really didn't want to go through the whole flirting process if he'd never fall in love with her, but that was the problem. He had already begun flirting on instinct and the very fact that he considered her feelings was a miracle in itself.

What are you doing? He thought to himself, running his hand through his long raven mane. He sighed to himself and looked at her, admiring how cute and short she was.

Eh, what the hell. He thought, dismissing his worry. He was curious to see where this would lead him and…well, what was the harm in that?

"You…Britney, is it? Have you ever been to Asgard?"


	2. Stark Solutions

Britney's eyes lit up and she smiled at Loki, watching curiously as his face shone with pure amusement.

"No, but I have read about it in my Mythology class…that's what I'm getting my minor in, while majoring in Journalism. I want to report and research findings on proof of mythological facts. To be honest I never really dreamed I'd find anything until now." Loki seemed to ponder her words before smirking.

"So what you're saying is…you want to prove whatever it is that's in these books of yours, and from the sound of it all they're about me?" Britney nodded.

"You and your realm. The people of Midgard, as you call it, believe we all live in one universe, one solar system. They don't believe in the nine realms like you and I do, it's been my life's work to show them they were wrong." This seemed to please Loki as he chuckled, but it very quickly faded into an unreadable expression.

"You seem like a very smart girl. But riddle me this, maiden, how do you know all of this and not realize what I did in New York a few months ago?" Britney tilted her head in confusion.

"You've been here in New York before? How did no one notice you?" Loki looked a little bewildered and took a step back from her.

"Didn't notice me? I destroyed Stark Tower in front of millions of people! I have killed more people than you can count on your fingers, and I damn well deserve to be remembered for longer than a year! I mean seriously, I came here in an attempt at reconquering, but I had no clue just how pathetic and utterly stupid you all really are!" He ranted, pacing as he did so and attempting not to look at her, disliking the odd feeling he got when he saw her terrified gaze. There was a wetness on her cheek that she didn't want to admit and a pit of fear in her stomach. Attracted as Britney obviously was to him, the rage in his voice coupled with his confession of murder ran her blood cold.

"I-I'm sorry I just….I'm an intern at Fox News, I seriously believe I'd know it if you'd killed that many people a year ago…and Loki…Stark Tower wasn't finished building until about a month ago, there is no way you could have destroyed it." Loki narrowed his eyes.

"That is impossible! This is all impossible, how are you so ignorant?!" He growled in frustration, stalking towards her angrily and raising his hand. Britney screwed her eyes closed and tensed, waiting for the blow that never came. Instead she felt his fingertips gently brushing her tears away and she opened her eyes to see him move close to her ear.

"I would never strike a lady…Midgardian and useless or not." He whispered, sending chills down her spine. He then walked back into the restaurant, to retrieve his brother she assumed, so she followed him.

Thor was talking with Emily, asking her why her restaurant was named after him if she didn't truly even believe he existed.

"That's Britney's thing. We both take the mythology classes, but she's the only one that believes in it. I just take those classes because they're fun, I mean, I'm trying to work my way up to being a chef and taking over the family business, I have no need for that stuff. But I've been into mythology since I was able to read, my dad named this place after you because between the ages seven and eight you were all I talked about." Mr. Brooks, Emily's father, nodded in agreement as she wrapped his hand with some gauze from a first aid kit they found in the back.

"I'm sorry about your hand…" Thor murmured sheepishly, earning a half-way satisfied grunt from Mr. Brooks and a grin from Emily.

"He's fine, don't sweat it." Her eyes grew weary as she saw Britney and Loki reenter through the hole in the wall, not wishing to see the two brother's quarrel again.

"Gunna be nice?" She asked Loki, half serious and half trying to lighten the intense mood he seemed to bring with him. Loki said nothing and the glare he was giving her shut her up quickly.

"Thor, you remember how I destroyed this city last year, yes?" Thor was a little shocked that he was bringing this up in front of the girl he thought he liked, but he nodded.

"Of course I do, though I sincerely wish I didn't. If you hadn't done that I wouldn't have to return you to your cell." Thor sighed, looking up at his brother with a bittersweet smile.

"Yes, well this Midgardian imbecile doesn't know of it, and she's the smartest damn human I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, so if she doesn't know about it then no one else does. I demand to know what you and your little friends have done." Loki's tone was filled with such ice that it made Emily and Mr. Brooks both leave the room to "check on the other employees". Britney flinched and her eyes welled with tears again but she didn't dare move, she wanted to stay and find out why she couldn't remember the hugest story in centuries, why she hadn't known her favorite mythological God had seriously been here before.

"Brother, I swear it to you; I don't know what you mean. I have done nothing, but I agree that it's strange such a large attack on Midgard was so quickly forgotten. When we get home I will investigate." Loki laughed, but it was nowhere close to the flirty laugh Britney had heard him use before. The melodically gentle rapture had twisted into something hideous and frightening.

"Ah, but we aren't going home. No, we are paying Mr. Tony Stark a little visit and then I am going to take what is rightfully mine. If I can't have Asgard I will take this, and they will be thanking me when they realize the things I can do for them." Loki turned on his heel, preparing to storm out with Thor trailing behind him until he realized that Britney was still there.

"I didn't scare you off as well?" Britney shook her head and took a shaky breath.

"Take me with you." Loki's eyebrows shot up.

"Sorry, love, I'll have to show you Asgard some other time, I have more pressing matters to deal with than you and your rather idealistic journalism." Loki tried to walk around her but she stepped in front of him.

"No, I mean take me with you to Mr. Stark's. I want to know why I don't remember just as much as you do. Loki please, this is important to me." Loki gritted his teeth and opened his mouth to say no but then closed it again. Damn her and her big brown doe eyes. He thought to himself as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her out the door with him. Emily, becoming concerned for her friend as she watched her be seemingly drug from the restaurant, ran after the three of them.

"Wait! What are you doing to her, stop!" Loki rolled his eyes and only tugged Britney's wrist harder.

"She asked for this." He didn't add that he was only pulling her because he secretly liked the warmth of her skin, and she didn't tell him to stop because she liked the chill of his.

"It's okay, Emily Brooks, he's only doing what she asked. We're all doing to talk to Ironman. Care to join us?" Emily was about to agree when Loki snapped "This is not a fieldtrip!" Thor chuckled and looked over his shoulder at her.

"You can still come, don't mind him." He whispered. Loki climbed into Emily's navy blue mini cooper convertible and pulled Britney onto his lap. She squeaked happily at first and then in surprise when he was rolling her off and into the passenger seat.

"Tell me, woman, how do I work this machinery?" Britney laughed breathlessly.

"Well first of all you need Emily's keys…" Loki turned his head to look at Thor and Emily, Emily glaring at him with her hands on her hips.

"Out. Now. I know how to get to Stark Tower just fine, you and Britney get in the back, Thor, you take Britney's seat." Britney and Loki both grumbled a bit, not liking be exiled to the back of the car, but they complied since they both figured it would get them to their destination faster.

There was a severely awkward silence in the car and no one really knew what to say. Emily was speeding slightly, thinking the sooner they were rid of Loki the better, and Britney was in her own world as usual. She had been thinking about the soft way Loki had brushed the tears from her face, and the flirting, and the pulling of her wrist. It all made her wonder if the bad boy front he was putting up had any truth to it. Sure, he admitted to killing people, but she didn't know the whole story, how did she know he didn't have a misguided reason behind it. Judging from the looks of things she was almost certain he was 95% misunderstood and 5% downright evil…but she could deal with a little evil if it meant she could get to know the real him. She knew enough from her books, she knew there was more to him than met the eye and she was dying to find out everything she could.

"Loki…you should really put on your seatbelt if Emily is going to continue doing 30 over the speed limit." She glanced sideways at her friend but Emily pretended not to hear her. That damned playful smile, which Britney would later learn was his truest smile, was back on his lips.

"And what, fair one, would a seatbelt be?" Britney undid hers and scooted closer to him, reaching over and pulling the long grey fabric toward them. Loki tried not to stare while she was bent over him but was unable to contain his chuckle. She blushed, tightening it around him and buckling him in. Emily hit a speed bump about that time, causing Britney to jolt forward and hit her head on Loki's door. His cool fingertips were once again tenderly touching her face and it made her heart leap up into her throat.

"Are you alright?" She couldn't answer, but nodded at him and quickly climbed back to her own seat. She could feel Loki's eyes on her for a long while after that, but she refused to look at him. She was embarrassed, intrigued, and honestly a little sad because at the end of this little road trip she knew she'd never see him again.

"I really get under your skin, don't I?" She finally looked over at him, returning that painfully playful and unguarded smile, and then shrugged.

"Maybe."

Security was tight at Stark Tower, and that meant that Loki couldn't be seen entering the building. Britney offered to stay behind and work with him on a sly way of sneaking him in while Emily and Thor distracted security out front. Thor went inside to go ahead and request to speak with Tony while Emily acted as if she were lost and inquired to the guards out front where she was.

"Ok, Loki, I think we have a good chance at getting you in if—" Loki snorted.

"Britney." He was giving her a look like she was mad and then flashed her a dashing smile.

"I've got this…if you trust me." Excitement got the best of her and she giggled.

"I trust you." Loki's eyes seemed to get brighter and his smirk grew as wide as it possibly could. He wrapped her arms around him and pulled her to his chest, concentrating his energy on Stark. Before she knew it, Britney was standing in Tony's office with her face buried into the God of Mischief. She really, really, didn't want to move, but she could hear two men clearing their throats and another deep chuckle from Loki. When she pulled away she saw an irritated Tony Stark and a mortified Thor.

"Loki I told you to be discreet…" Thor hissed, earning a tight lipped smile from his brother.

"That was discreet as you were going to get." Tony put his head in his hands and groaned.

"Damn it Thor, you said you were here on strictly business but you didn't say you brought your greasy mama's boy with you." Loki sneered.

"As if I'm happy to see a hurt insecure little human that hides from his problems in a metal suit." The tension in the room was almost unbearable as the two stared each other down and Britney and Thor stood around awkwardly, her still in Loki's arm.

"So….about New York…"


	3. Agent Coulson Lives

Tony raised an eyebrow.

"What about it?" Loki rolled his shimmering emerald eyes in annoyance.

"Don't play dumb with us, Stark. No one in this god awful realm can remember what happened here a year ago and we want to know why. This one," He said, pointing to the girl still helplessly clinging to him.

"Thinks that Stark Tower just finished building this month." Tony nodded.

"She's right. After you oh so rudely demolished the last one, we had to completely rebuild…" Thor shook his head.

"No, he means she thinks it was finished building for the first time." Tony's face twisted into confusion but he was unable to respond as there was a knock on the door.

"Mr. Stark…we found a woman wandering around out front and security sent her up. Do you know her?" Tony sighed heavily.

"Michaela, babe, I've told you that you can call me Tony at work, you're my wife after all. And please, bring her in." Thor, who had heard rumors of Tony proposing, grinned and patted Tony on the back.

"I think congratulations are in order. Who would have thought you'd end up marrying one of the civilians we saved last year?" He simply shrugged as a tall slender woman with long straight brunette hair and hazel eyes walked in escorting Emily by her shoulder.

"Ah, I remember you. I think I left you to die near this very tower…pity it didn't work." Loki quipped at the young woman. She practically threw Emily at Thor, stalking towards Loki with hate transforming her delicate features into a sneer.

"Well…I see how it is, I get forgotten about while distracting people downstairs and then thrown carelessly at a God and look, what do you know, it's all Loki's fault, as usual." Emily mumbled to herself, irritated that the world seemed to revolve around him. Thor squeezed her shoulder in comfort and leaned down to whisper "It's okay Emily, I didn't forget you." She blushed but didn't answer, becoming intrigued by the scene before her. Michaela drew her hand back and slapped Loki as hard as she could.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, who you are, or why I'm mad at you, but don't you ever speak to me that way again!" She spat, turning to Tony and crossing her arms.

"Who does he think he is? Is he a friend of yours?" Tony's mouth dropped open and concern immediately flooded his eyes.

"Baby, you have no idea who that is?" Michaela looked over her shoulder at Loki and then back to her husband.

"No, why?" He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.

"Think really hard, Angel, how did we meet?" She seemed to ponder the question for a few seconds before she looked down at the floor, shame plastered on her face.

"I know this is going to make me sound like a horrible wife but…but I don't remember." He ran one of his rough, calloused hands through his tousled raven hair and looked gravely at Thor.

"You're serious, they really don't remember." Loki rolled his eyes again.

"Way to go Captain Obvious, we've established this, now can we please get some answers?" Normally you would have expected this type of comment from Loki, so naturally when it came out of Britney's mouth everyone's heads snapped in her direction. Loki's arms tightened around her and pride welled inside of him.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Emily, on the other hand, was horrified at the outburst.

"Britney! That is Ironman you're talking too, God, ever since you met Loki you've just…just irked me!" Loki didn't know why, but that statement pissed him off. Not because she'd made it seem like he'd done something to her friend, but because for some reason these last couple of hours he'd grown fond of the short little nerd girl in his arms, and he was offended for her.

"Excuse me, you pathetic sac of—" Britney gently laid her hand on his arm and shushed him.

"Don't, it's okay. Look, Tony, I'm sorry, but I came here for answers because I am in serious need of starting my career and this is the only information in the world that can do that for me. So tell me what you know so I can be out of your hair, and I'll take Loki with me." Tony snorted.

"Good, I can't take much more of that rat; he's ruining the feng shui in this room." Tony pulled out his phone and dialed a number while the rest of them reveled in the awkward silence that had officially followed them from the car. Loki was thinking about what on Earth he was going to do with this Midgardian woman after their departure from here, Britney was trying to devise a plan to prolong Loki's stay, and Emily was staring at Tony's perfectly chiseled abs while Thor and Michaela sulked.

"Agent Phil Coulson will be over shortly…shouldn't take him long. In the meantime, Michaela, would you please go speak with security and ask them how the hell Loki Laufeyson got in this building when their only reason for being hired was to keep him out?" Michaela nodded and Loki smirked sarcastically as she left the room.

"I'm flattered." Loki's comment was left largely ignored as Thor's expression fell and he turned sad eyes to Tony.

"Agent Coulson has perished…" Understanding immediately clicked with Loki as he followed his brother's gaze.

"Wait a minute yes, that's the poor bastard I stabbed with my staff! Between him and your wife, I'd greatly appreciate it if some of my work actually paid off." He grumbled, earning a sympathetic pat from Britney, which in turn got her glared at from everyone else.

"Yeah that's what we all thought, but thankfully S.H.E.I.L.D was able to resuscitate him and send him to recover in Tahiti." Thor grinned.

"Oh that's wonderful; I can't wait to see him!" There was a chuckle from the doorway and they turned to see an older gentleman in a suit with a grin almost as large as Thor's.

"Miss me?" Thor ran towards Phil and scooped him up in a bear hug.

"Son of Coul, you live!" Loki covered his face with his hand and both Britney and Emily let out giggles. Thor put Phil down and he walked toward Tony.

"What can I do you for, Mr. Stark?" Tony gestured a hand lazily at Loki.

"No one remembers the attack on this city Loki launched roughly thirteen months ago, no one but Loki himself and Thor and I that we can tell. We want to know why. Do the rest of The Avenger's remember? Do you?" Phil never missed a beat and his reply was cagey.

"Yes." They all waited for more, but it was slowly becoming obvious that this wasn't going to be as easy as they had initially thought.

"Yes what?" Tony finally asked in frustration.

"Yes, the rest of The Avenger's remember, and yes, I do. S.H.E.I.L.D remembers everything and knows everything, that's all I am at liberty to say." Loki counted in his head the hours that he had been in Midgard. He'd spent one at the restaurant, two on the car ride over here and this dreadfully long trip to Stark Tower was causing what had been three hours on Midgard to be three and a half, and that was much too long with nothing accomplished for his liking.

"As fun as this all is, it's getting me nowhere. Tell me why they don't remember before I reacquaint you with my staff, and this time it's going straight up your rectum." Phil only smiled.

"You go right ahead, Loki. Not only will you not gain the answers you seek, but you'll be short a staff, and have S.H.E.I.L.D after you faster than you can say Asgard." Loki cackled, letting go of Britney for the first time since the two of them had left the car.

"Asgard." He replied shortly, his staff materializing in his hand as he swung it at Phil's head. Phil was knocked unconscious and Loki quickly took his form and grabbed Britney by her wrist.

"Time for us to go." She didn't have time to think, only follow what now looked like Agent Coulson as he ran out of the room and down the hall to the nearest closet, shutting them in there. He repeated his actions from the car, wrapping her arms around his waist and concentrating very hard. This time, they ended up at the nearest S.H.E.I.L.D base and he smirked at her, although it didn't have near the same effect when he was disguised as a middle aged man.

"We're going to get the knowledge we seek, I promise you that. Since we have a common goal, I need you to help me. Do we understand each other?" Britney nodded, earning another smirk from the God.

"Damn it to hell…" He suddenly whispered, catching sight of Thor and Emily.

"Britney, you said earlier that you trusted me, did you mean it?" She nodded again.

"Good. So you'll understand when I ask you to lie to your friend. Tell her I left you here in a rage, tell her you pissed me off somehow and I disappeared, anything like that, but I'm not here, do you understand me?" Britney wanted to say no but she was pressed for time and was eager for him to trust her in return, so she nodded as he once again changed forms. Emily and Thor spotted her quickly and ran to her.

"Oh thank God he hasn't hurt you, where did he go?" Britney's heart was pounding in her chest and guilt was already eating her alive. This was her best friend, she'd been her best friend for eleven years, was she really going to betray her for the trust of a man she'd only known for going on four hours? Noticing the tears gathering in Britney's eyes, Loki, who was now disguised as Agent Maria Hill, realized that what he'd asked her to do was hurting her. You don't care, Loki. You don't care. He tried to convince himself of this, but the moment she choked out "I upset him" he returned to Phil's form and grabbed her by her waist.

"It's okay, Britney, I'm not upset anymore, I'm right here." He was just going to have to deal with his brother because those damned eyes of hers had done it again.

"Loki this is madness, what are you doing here?" Thor demanded.

"Look, I'm simply doing the same thing we were doing at Stark's. Once I find out what's going on and why people don't remember, I'll leave and let Agent what's his face return to his pathetic excuse for an identity. I like my real body better anyway. So you can either help me and help us all, or expose me and ruin Britney's life. Take your pick." Loki explained, a small smile tugging at his lips as he felt Britney's breath hitch.

"Brother, don't pretend like you're doing this for her. It's unfair to make her believe she's anything more to you than what she is when everything you're doing here is for yourself. And why, might I add? Why does it matter that they don't remember? Can't you just leave well enough alone?" Loki grimaced.

"No, brother, I can't. If they don't remember then they don't fear me, and if they don't fear me they don't know their place. Their place is to kneel before me and they are not doing so, I aim to fix that. And as for the girl, don't tell me what I feel and what I don't because you know nothing of my feelings." He spat, feeling a twinge of regret as he watched the light behind Thor's eyes dim. He knew nothing hurt his brother more than accusing him of being anything less than a good brother.

"Loki….fine. Have it your way, I'll help you get in to talk to the director, okay? Just promise me you'll behave yourself." Loki chuckled.

"Glad we understand each other. Now, if we're all going to work together we're going to have to trust each other, yes? That means you." He stated flatly, narrowing his eyes at Emily. She didn't respond, only huffed in annoyance and turned to Thor.

"Well, I have to pee, so this whole team building thing is going to have to wait." About that time, Colonel Fury walked up behind them.

"Agent Coulson, please escort this woman to the restroom. Thor, what do I owe the pleasure?" Loki gritted his teeth, wanting so badly to tell him where to shove it. That damned woman had to ruin everything, if his brother didn't seem so helplessly smitten by her he'd have offed her ages ago.

"Come with me miss." He spat through barred teeth, causing Emily nothing but absolute joy. She smiled her cheeriest smile.

"Thank you, Agent." She linked her arm in Loki's and they started toward the other end of the building, leaving Britney and Thor alone with Fury.

"I need to talk to you about Loki's ambush on New York." Fury looked hesitantly from Thor to Britney and then back again.

"And why did you come to do so with two unfamiliar women with you?" Thor shrugged and flashed a brilliant smile.

"Well, the maiden your agent is with is my…female person of interest, and this here is her sister. They are um…scientists, if you will. They seek the same information I do, and I promise you they are good at keeping secrets. I've had them sitting on Asgard's most prized secrets for years." Britney didn't know why, but she was surprised that he was able to lie like that, that was Loki's thing. But she admired the lengths that he was willing to go to to prove to his brother that he really did care about him. Admirable as his actions were, Fury didn't seem convinced.

"Thor, you know how top secret this all is, I'm afraid I can't do what you ask." Thor laid one of his large hands on the director's shoulder.

"When I have I ever lied to you?" Fury seemed to ponder it for a moment and then sighed.

"Follow me." He led the two of them down a few seemingly never ending hallways until they finally made it to what appeared to be a makeshift office.

"Please make this quick though, I have important things to do." Thor looked to Britney for help, but she could only mouth "Keep Loki out of this and we're fine."

"I need to know why the people of Midgard don't remember what happened to them, to this city. I wake up one day and my…woman doesn't remember anything of it, why is that? Did you think we wouldn't notice?" Britney had to stifle a laugh. Had Thor seriously just referred to Emily as his woman?

"They remember what they need to remember, alright? We took away the bad memories, is there something wrong with that?" Britney cleared her throat in an attempt to both be assertive and remind the two men that she was still there.

"We need to know why." Fury shot her a rather intense stare and she looked down at her feet.

"And why is that, Miss…" He trailed off.

"Erhardt." She prompted.

"Miss Erhardt." She might have been a little less nervous if Thor hadn't been staring at her too, and now that she knew she'd lost his train of thought she was completely on her own.

"Because I'm not an idiot, Colonel Fury, I know S.H.E.I.L.D had ulterior motives behind wiping the entire city's memory, it wasn't out of the kindness of your hearts." Fury smiled, catching both Britney and Thor completely off guard.

"Where did you find this one? She's feisty…makes me wonder if I ought to hire her. To answer your question, it was to protect you all from Loki. We know things, Miss Erhardt. We know that Asgard more than likely isn't take the precautions necessary to keep him locked up and we know he's planning an escape. We don't want him to have the upper hand when he does, the fear. The moment he arrives, we'll be ready and armed, and Asgard won't get him back this time, mark my words." He looked at Thor as he spoke these last words, his dark eyes filled with unspoken promises. Britney smirked inwardly, knowing that even without the fear; Loki still had the upper hand. He had managed to get here without S.H.E.I.L.D detecting him and she wasn't one hundred percent sure why, but she knew she wanted to help him keep it that way. She held her head high, swallowing her fear and focusing on trying to help Loki in any way possible.

"Can I ask you one more question then, Sir?" Fury checked his watch and sighed.

"Hurry." Thor was making it rather clear to Britney that her last question was a step too far, too dangerous, his eyes were begging her to just shut up and walk away. But this wasn't just for Loki, this was for her, and she wasn't leaving here without her answer.

"How did you do it?"


	4. SHIELD and Sorrow

Fury rose and walked briskly at Britney, stopping an inch in front of her face.  
"And why in the world would you want to know that?" She widened her eyes and put on the most innocent face possible, if it worked on the God of Mischief surely it would work on this control freak. `  
"I'm a scientist, Colonel Fury. It's purely part of my research." Thor nodded as if to back me up but it was obvious that this discussion was over.  
"I'm sorry; Thor, Miss Erhardt, but I can't disclose any more information." Thor grabbed Britney's hand and pulled her roughly towards the door.  
"Thank you Director. It was kind of you to clear that up for us." Thor hastily yanked the door open and they exited, eager to flee the scrutiny of Fury's gaze. Fury picked up a walkie-talkie from his desk and pressed the button on the side.  
"Don't let Thor or anyone in his party exit the facility. Take them to the interrogation room, especially the short blonde woman, she's a problem."  
Meanwhile, Loki was going absolutely mad waiting for Emily to come out of the restroom. He paced out front and kept checking his (Actually Phil's) watch periodically to confirm that she was taking longer than he deemed necessary. His mind was wandering to his brother and maiden…neither of the two were the brightest crayons in the box, and he was worried they were ruining things for him.  
"God, you Midgardian piece of—" He trailed off as he noticed several other passing agents staring at him.  
"Emily, dear, would you please hurry up." He grumbled, emphasizing each word heavily. Emily was snickering to herself inside her bathroom stall, taking longer than usual on purpose. Four hours had been long enough for her to decide that she didn't like him or what he was doing to her friend.  
"I'm sorry Phil; you should have known better than to take me to Taco Bell on our first date." That message was received loud and clear outside the bathroom and several passersby burst into laughter. Loki was about to bang his head into a wall.  
I hate her, I hate her, I hate her.  
It didn't take longer than a good ten minutes for Britney and Thor to be completely surrounded. S.H.E.I.L.D agents were lined up left and right, armed and ready.  
"I was trying to tell you this was a bad idea!" Thor bellowed. Britney rolled her eyes.  
"Don't you get it? This is all part of my plan." She hissed back, hoping the agents hadn't heard her.  
"Plan? Dear Asgard, please tell me my brother hasn't put you up to anything stupid…" Britney didn't respond, angry that he seemed to think she was incapable of forming her own plans, that she must have gotten this all from Loki.  
I'll show you. I'll show all of you, and then it will be Loki's turn to be impressed. She thought to herself.  
"Let them take us, don't resist." She whispered, nodding in approval as Thor lowered his hammer and allowed them both to be put in handcuffs. They were seized as if they were war criminals, drug roughly through twists and turns, on a seemingly never ending journey to what was surely a form of purgatory. They were brought to a large bleach white room, the only color in the room being the silver of the titanium door and chairs. There were only two chairs, and once seated they had their arms pulled over the backs of their seats, making them practically immobile.  
"We will return with The Director shortly." They were then locked in, no way out and no hope of contacting Loki and Emily. Thor tried to summon his hammer, but he couldn't gather his concentration, questions for the girl beside him swirling in his head.  
"What was the point of all this? Honestly, I know this wasn't all for my brother." Thor's tone and gaze were both so gentle that it broke Britney's heart. She knew she didn't deserve for him to be nice to her.  
"T-Thor I…I'm sorry. I have a plan to both get us out of here and get the information I need, I promise you. I just…my family is waiting on me to make something of myself. I promised my dad after my mom left that I'd go on to do something great, I'd fix it all. But with what I decided to go into…I can't do that without your help. I need proof that these other worlds exist, Thor. And I'm so sorry that in order to do it I got you into trouble but…I deluded myself into believing it was okay because Loki would benefit from it too." Thor was quiet for a few moments, his eyes softening into an even deeper blue than before.  
"You really like my brother, don't you?" Britney could no longer speak, still wounded by the tenderness she in no way was worthy of, but nodded. Thor chuckled gently.  
"You needn't try so hard, Britney. Loki likes you, I can tell, and he likes you for you, not for what he can gain from you. For Loki that's a major accomplishment. I mean, you will surely have to wait a long time for any sort of conformation that he feels for you, you've only known him for a few short hours. But trust me, he does like you. As for the pressure you have to make your father proud…Loki carries that too. You two have more in common than either of you probably realize. It's cute." He teased. Her tears finally spilled over.  
"Thor…" He smiled apologetically at her.  
"Listen; there are other ways to gain what you seek. You and Loki both seem to need a lesson in that, but since we're already in this mess, I'll help you, okay?" She grinned at him, attempting to dry her tears without her hands.  
"Thank you. I can see what Emily likes about you." Thor adverted his eyes to his lap and his smile grew wider.  
"You really think she likes me?" Britney giggled.  
"Thor, sweetie, she's never given a boy the time of day the way she does with you." Thor didn't answer, but he didn't have to. The happiness was clearly plastered on his face, and it warmed Britney's heart. It wasn't long after that that Fury entered the room.  
"Follow my lead." She whispered quickly, earning a swift nod from the God.  
"Right behind you."  
When Fury had ordered that no one let Thor out of the building, S.H.E.I.L.D went completely on lock down. Emily had just walked out of the restroom when an alarm sounded and Phil's walkie-talkie projected Fury's voice. Loki pushed Emily back into the ladies room shamelessly and blew a gust of ice from his mouth, freezing the door and sealing them inside.  
"What the hell?" Emily demanded as Loki returned to his own form and narrowed those perfect green eyes.  
"What? Did you want me to let them seize you? My oaf of a brother and your little blonde friend obviously got each other caught; it's not safe for you out there." Emily raised an eyebrow.  
"You should pay more attention to the girl you like. Her hair is brown." Loki scoffed.  
"It is not! Her hair is the color of the finest gold in Asgard, it's like someone captured the sun and melted it into a goddess. And I do not like her; she is simply useful to me." Emily put her hands on her hips.  
"Oh sure, you don't like your little golden sun goddess in the slightest. Which by the way is not her true hair color. It's dyed, Loki, her hair is brown." Loki simply grumbled and took a seat in the cleanest looking corner of the bathroom.  
"May as well sit down, we're going to be here for a while." Emily took a seat beside Loki, although she could think of many different people she'd rather be trapped with.  
"Why are we staying here and not looking for Thor and Britney?" Loki sighed.  
"What a lovely way to blow my cover that would be, wouldn't it? Just poof in and say hi? I don't think so; I can't let these people know I'm here. Thor and Britney got themselves into this mess and they're going to have to get themselves out of it. I'm not their babysitter." Emily was about to object, before she realized that this would probably be a good opportunity to find out what her friend thought was so great about this douche-bag.  
"So…um, just out of my curiosity, why do you hate me?" Loki turned to face her, genuinely surprised.  
"You think I hate you?" Emily laughed bitterly.  
"You haven't made such a secret of it." Loki rolled his eyes.  
"Well for starters, you're incredibly annoying and you have a sense of self-righteousness that rivals my father's…but I don't hate you. I think Thor finally met his match. I don't particularly like you, but he does, and if you are going to be with my brother there is no sense in hating—" Emily held her hand up faster than lightening.  
"Whoa whoa whoa, who said anything about me being with your brother? I've known the dude for a grand total of four hours." Loki's lips curled back into a smirk.  
"Ah, you're more like me I suppose. Slow and steady wins the race?" Emily nodded adamantly and Loki chuckled.  
"Thor's not wired that way, my dear. I give it a week before he's asking you to go steady, but don't worry. Saying no and that you need more time isn't going to ruin anything; my brother is a very understanding person. He'd back off immediately and slow things down. He's a really good choice I'd say, once you got to know him of course." Emily smiled.  
"Careful, Loki, your humanity is showing." Loki scoffed at her once more, but the playfulness never left his eyes, prompting her to keep talking.  
"Britney is like that too. She moves a little on the fast side, but she'd never do anything she knew would make you uncomfortable. No matter how long you need, she'll give it to you. That's just the type of person she is. She falls easy and is hurt even easier, so I swear to the Gods if you hurt her, you'll have me to answer to." And just like that the playfulness that had been written all over him drained away into a completely unreadable expression.  
Oh but that's the problem. Loki thought to himself. I would hurt her.  
Back in the Interrogation room, Fury was staring almost ashamedly at Thor.  
"Well that didn't take very long. I expected you to at least try to escape." Thor gave the director his best confused face.  
"Sir, I'm afraid I don't understand. Why would I try to escape? I know not what I even did." Fury paced between the two chairs, hands behind his back and his face expressionless.  
"Thor, even if you didn't mean any harm, which I don't actually believe you did, I really don't, she did." He said, pointing at her with a stubby finger.  
Come on Britney, this is your shot. She thought as she tried to imagine the saddest thing in the word. Thoughts of her mother filled her mind and the tears came easily, looking pleadingly up at Fury.  
"P-Please, what have I done? I just wanted to finish my scientific research, I-I wasn't going to tell anybody." Her lip quivered and sobs were ripping through her chest so hard that it even startled Thor.  
"Fury I promise you, she is the most trustworthy human I have ever met. Understanding how mind control affects the brain is the only thing she cares to know. If she knows how you were able to take away an entire city's memory, it could finally help her understand her life's work. Sir, please, you have my word that she'd never publish the secret, only her final thesis on how it all in general affects the human mind. I brought her with me to simply help her; you know I'd never betray you. Or at least I thought you knew." He added bitterly, pleased with himself when he saw Fury's expression waver.  
"I swear to you, Thor, if you are lying to me, you will not only be kicked out of the Avenger's, but I will personally see to it that you share a nice cozy cell with your brother." Thor never broke eye contact and managed to keep a poker face.  
"You have my word." He repeated. Fury sighed very heavily, resting his eye for a moment and very obviously attempting to talk himself out of it.  
"Tony Stark was making a machine with some blue prints I gave him, but he only got half way finished with it before he found out what it was for and told me he wouldn't do it. He didn't believe taking away any persons memory was right, said it was an invasion of privacy. So he trashed it, and I had Agent Hill secretly retrieve it and once it was finished we wiped his memory of ever having built any of it. You happy? In order to help you with your research I would have to know how the machine was made, and I wasn't involved with that. Are we done here?" Britney sniffled and looked pathetically from Fury to Thor.  
"I j-just wanna go home." Thor nodded.  
"We're done, thank you." Fury undid the hand-cuffs and Thor extended his hand for him to take. They shook on the promises sworn only a few moments earlier and as Britney and Thor were heading toward the door they over-heard Fury use his walkie-talkie once more to tell everyone they were free to go.  
The walkie-talkie piped up in the bathroom and Loki smirked.  
"Well what do you know…they did it." Emily looked thoroughly impressed.  
"I wasn't sure they had it in them." Loki simply chuckled and shifted back into Agent Coulson and grabbing his own walkie-talkie.  
"Thor, would you please come and pick up your lady from the bathroom? Thank you." Emily raised an eyebrow.  
"And we couldn't have just went and found them why?" Loki looked sheepishly at the floor.  
"Because well…someone needs to break the ice off of the door."  
Once everyone was back in the car in one piece and Loki was back to looking like himself again, the silence was a little more comfortable. No one ever did talk however until Emily pulled into hers and Britney's driveway.  
"Britney and I have been living together since college…this is home." She announced, smiling at everyone as she took the keys out of the ignition and went to go unlock the front door. Both Thor and Emily went inside, but Britney pulled Loki off to the side of the house.  
"I found out what we need to know." She gushed, not quite understanding why his expression was so pained. He said nothing and she took it was an invitation to keep talking.  
"Fury had Stark build a machine to erase everyone's memory but he stopped midway through construction and they stole it from him. Once they had it finished they made him forget they'd even asked him to do it and I'm assuming they have it hidden inside that base. The amazing thing is that maybe if we snoop around Stark Tower some more we can find the original blue print, and if we do that we can come up with a way to build a machine that reverses the effects. What do you think?" What did Loki think? Loki thought that she was brilliant; he thought that she was the only girl in the world that cared enough to try and help him, the only one smart enough to help him. He thought that she was beautiful, and funny in her own little Midgardian way. But most of all he thought that the moment he let himself care about her the world would just come crashing down and he didn't know if he could survive that. He knew that out of all the people in this miserable little realm, she was the one he didn't want to hurt. And so he made his decision right then and there.  
"I think that…I'm going to do that on my own. Thanks for the help but, I'm done here." He started to walk away before she grabbed for his arm.  
"Loki wait…I, I thought maybe we could figure this out together. We make a good team you and I." He could see her heart breaking in her eyes, but he jerked his arm away roughly.  
"Why would I want to work with a pathetic Midgardian quim who is too naive for her own good? You served your purpose and now you are disposable, did you really think I kept you around for anything more? Grow up, you aren't Cinderella, and I am definitely not anyone's Prince Charming." He growled, briskly walking into the woods behind their apartment and not bothering to look back.


	5. Friday the Thirteenth

It had been a good three weeks since Loki had left. Emily and Thor's relationship was blossoming before Britney's eyes and it only made her sadder. She was happy for her friend, she really was, but in all honesty the two of them were making her awfully lonely. The night Loki walked into those woods her first instinct and been to run into her best friends arms and sob, which is what she did, and Emily spent the entire night comforting her. However, Emily's sympathy only extended so far, and by the beginning of the second week her friend could no longer understand why she hadn't moved on.  
It was Friday the Thirteenth, and although usually people saw this as an unlucky day, Britney had always found it the opposite, as Friday the Thirteenth was one of her favorite scary movies. She woke up and stretched, pulling her hot pink comforter to her chin and rolling over to look at her deep indigo teddy bear, whom she'd named Jeremy when she was sixteen years old.  
"Today's going to be a good day, Jere. Emily and I are going to pop in the Jason movies as always, and I am not going to think about…him. Emily's right, it's ridiculous that I'm still stuck on him anyway, it'd only been a day." She got up and brushed the knots out of her long pale blonde hair, pulling it into a high pony tail and tugging on her favorite Classic Smoke Heather Multi-Way Tunic Cashmere sweater from Victoria's Secret. Slipping on some ribbed leggings of the same color and a pair of ballet flats, she made her bed and walked from her bedroom to Emily's.  
Emily was laying on her bed with Thor, him in his usual armor and red cape and her in ripped Hot Topic jeans and a black lace-trim camisole. Thor grinned at her the moment she entered.  
"You look absolutely stunning, Britney, this is a major improvement from the worn pink and gray nightshirt and old sweat pants you've been wearing for a week straight. Does someone have a date?" Emily snorted.  
"No, she wears that outfit a lot, best damn sixty bucks I ever spent on a Christmas present. She probably only changed because she couldn't stand her own lady-stink anymore." Britney folded her arms.  
"Don't give Thor the impression that I don't change clothes regularly. I only haven't recently because I've been…well you know, and I wear this more often than the rest of my clothes, yes, but I am a cleanly person." She grumbled, still not in the mood for much of the taunting her friend liked to poke at her. Now just wasn't the time. Thor chuckled.  
"It's okay, maiden, I've been in love, I understand." Emily rolled her eyes.  
"We have been through this, she isn't in love with him, she doesn't know him." Britney agreed with part of that, yeah, she didn't know him. That didn't stop her from agonizing over what could have been though, she had really liked him.  
"You don't believe in love at first sight?" Emily tried to keep a smile off her face at his question.  
"You know I don't." He laid one of his large hands on her knee and gently pressed his lips against her neck.  
"Yeah? Because I think you're a liar." Emily couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips and the sight of it all made Britney cringe. All she could think about was how Loki's hand had felt on her wrist that day and what those perfect lips might feel like…  
"So um, Emily, are we watching Friday the Thirteenth or not?" Emily's eyes lit up.  
"Oh! I didn't realize that was today. I'd love too if that's okay with Thor." Thor shrugged.  
"I'm not sure what this is, but if you like it I'm sure I will too." Britney wasn't so sure about that, but didn't argue.  
"Let's go to the living room then." Thor chuckled.  
"Why? We're already so comfortable here." Thor got up and pulled Britney onto the bed with them, wedging her in the middle.  
"Now we can commence this…movie, as you call it." Emily burst into laughter and turned on the DVD player. Britney really hoped this was going to be okay, she didn't think Thor's first movie should be anything like this. The opening credits rolled and there was a sequence with a bunch of teenagers around a campfire.  
"So do these people live in this box?" Thor whispered. Britney smiled for the first time since Loki left.  
"No, Thor. This is just a box that projects things that people have pretended to do in front of a camera. None of it's real." Thor seemed a little comforted by this as two of the Camp Counselors began to have sex after sneaking away from the others. He only seemed to get more and more horrified as the male teenager told what appeared to be no one that they were just fooling around.  
"Who is he talking to? Oh…holy mother of bifrost what has slain him?" Both Emily and Britney slowly but surely turned to look at him. They just watched in amusement as his eyes widened and he summoned his hammer.  
"Someone has to help that maiden…" Emily reached across Britney and gently touched his hand.  
"You can't help her, Thor. This is stuff that's already been acted out, it won't change." Thor gripped her hand in return.  
"You mean she's already dead…" Seeing the sad look that manifested in his eyes just about killed Emily, so she gently kissed his cheek.  
"It's okay, it's not real, I promise." Thor's sad pout quickly turned into a beam. He gazed at Emily for a few seconds before entwining his fingers in her hair and capturing her lips with his. Emily scooted as close as she could with Britney's body between them, deepening the kiss and fingering at the scruff on his face. Britney couldn't take this, not the kissing, or the cuddling, or anything else. She lay back as far as she could and slowly scooted herself off the bed and into the floor. Neither Thor nor Emily noticed as Britney quietly ran back to her room and flung herself at Jeremy.  
"I was wrong…I was so wrong." She cried, pulling her stuffed animal into her arms and burying her face into her pillow.  
Loki was walking aimlessly around the wooded area behind Emily and Britney's apartment, trying and failing to think of his plans for this new machine. In these last three weeks he'd been breaking into Tony's periodically and ransacking the place looking for blue prints, but he'd had no such luck. The place was just too damn big and as much as he hated to admit it, he needed help. He had been sleeping out in their woods, never truly able to leave Britney. This was his way of protecting her, this way she was 100% safe. The only problem was that her being 100% safe was making them both absolutely miserable. She probably hates me…but I truly do need her help. He thought to himself, giving up on trying to convince himself that it was better this way. He walked to the back of their house, still trying to think up a plan that would be most likely to ease her anger at him. What he wasn't expecting was to peer through her window and see her curled up on her bed, crying her heart out.  
Surely it's not over me. He thought, but he knew it was no use in telling himself that.  
Way to go Loki, you did exactly what you were trying to shield her from. He closed his eyes and concentrated his magic on her, teleporting into her room in a matter of seconds. His heart broke as he watched her bawl, her delicate body shaking and the eyes he loved so much full of nothing but hurt.  
"Why do you weep, Fair one?" She shot up quickly, wiping her tears on her sweater sleeve.  
"Loki…you came back." He smirked.  
"Of course I did, I couldn't just leave a damsel in distress." Looking at this gorgeous, incredibly damaged man and hearing what he had to say after abandoning her for three weeks, something inside Britney snapped. She approached him slowly at first, stopping an inch away and throwing all of her strength into a good slap. Loki just blinked for a few seconds and then laughed. It wasn't his cold laugh, it was that laugh that she only ever heard when they were alone. The one that sounded like the song of an angel, and it almost dissipated her anger completely.  
"Two slaps in the same month, I'm on a role." The tears started again and Britney shook her head in disbelief.  
"Why? Why would you leave me here all by myself to watch your brother close the distance between Emily and him, to wallow in the fact that I'd never get to find out if we would be doing the same by now or if things never would have worked out…" She trailed off and Loki was more than a little surprised.  
"Is that what all the tears were about? You thought you'd never get to find out whether or not there was anything here?" He asked, gesturing between them. He wasn't surprised that this is why she was crying, no, he's suspected that. He was surprised that the soft-spoken girl he'd met almost a month ago had actually had the gall to admit it out loud.  
"Sweet maiden, there was something there from the moment we locked eyes, and I know you know it. If there had been nothing, you wouldn't be crying and I wouldn't be apologizing." Britney backed away and folded her arms.  
"No, you can't just expect me to accept your apology. It's like my mother all over again, you think you can just disappear over and over and an apology is always going to make it okay." Loki put a hand on each side of her waist and pulled her tightly against him.  
"Is that what your mother did to you? She left you?" Britney nodded.  
"The worst part of it is that Thor said you'd gone through something similar…And yet you left me anyway." Loki kissed her forehead and pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes.  
"I didn't do what I did to hurt you; you have to trust me on that. I'm not the good guy, Britney, this is exactly what I was trying to prevent." Understanding suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks.  
"You were trying to protect me…from you." Loki didn't answer, he just stared at her, not exactly sure what to do or say. Both of them were unconsciously moving in closer and Loki knew that this had to stop. He wanted to kiss her, he wanted to let himself to fall in love with her, but the rational side of him was sending out warnings that it was too dangerous. He hardly knew this girl, he wanted to trust her but it was foolish to do so blindly and he knew that he had to get to honestly know her before he'd fully allow this.  
Never worry, He thought as a dashing smile graced his lips. I can get to know her while we're robbing Stark of some papers.  
"Help me find those blue prints. As much as I hate to admit defeat, I need you more than I originally thought." Britney laughed. She was still mad and hurt, and more than a little upset that they had stopped short of kissing, but she was happy to be in on his plan once again. She shot him her own little mischievous smile and threatened him with her eyes.  
"I hope you know that more than an apology and a kiss on the forehead are needed to win me over." Loki returned the look, sending chills down Britney's spine.  
"Oh I figured, but you're still going to help me find those prints. The rest comes later." He whispered into her ear hotly, adoring the affect it obviously had on her body. He then walked from the room to find Emily and Thor, expecting Britney to follow him. He found neither of them in the living room and he turned to Britney to ask her where they might have gone. It wasn't until then that he really noticed her outfit and the way the sweater draped off her shoulders and her sun-shinny hair cascaded from her high pony tail to the base of her neck.  
"You're so…um, where is Emily's chambers?" Britney blushed.  
"Down the hall to your left." The pair awkwardly made their way to Emily's bedroom only to stop dead in their tracks at what they found when Loki opened the door. Thor was buried into Emily's side, clutching her for dear life as a girl was getting murdered in the bathroom on the movie. Loki burst into tearful laughter.  
"Oh brother, how the mighty have fallen."


	6. Kittens and Kisses

"You!" Emily growled, hopping off the bed and throwing her fist in Loki's face.  
"Ugh, that makes three; you Midgardian women are so temperamental! And here I thought you and I had made amends." Emily crossed her arms furiously.  
"Yeah well that was before you crushed my best friend, I warned you that she was fragile!" Loki reached out and stroked the side of Britney's face.  
"I think she's a lot stronger than anyone gives her credit for." Emily wasn't listening as she smacked his hand away.  
"Don't touch her!" Britney shot her friend a thankful look but shook her head.  
"It's okay, Emily. He and I are…working on things." Emily's face turned beet red and she looked as if she were about to pull her hair out.  
"Working on things? Excuse me, but who was here drying your tears all month while he's been off doing God only knows what kind of horrible…" Loki cut her off.  
"Only breaking and entering, thank you, not anything too dreadful." She rolled her eyes.  
"Oh great well, I suppose you're now going to be forcing my best friend into barging into people's houses unannounced as well?" Loki almost looked ashamed…almost.  
"Forced is a strong word." Thor got up and put a hand on her shoulder.  
"Let him be, Emily, he's obviously made it right by Britney." For a moment Britney and Loki both thought Emily's head was about to spin all the way around like the exorcist. For the split second that she was glaring daggers at only Thor, Loki grabbed Britney and she knew what was coming. They noiselessly teleported from Emily's bedroom to somewhere in Stark Tower.  
"This is one of the many libraries…one of the only ones I haven't already torn to pieces looking for these damn blueprints. This is why I need your help, that and, I thought the alone time would be a good start at closing the distance, as you put it." The blush creeping up Britney's face did not go unnoticed and Loki felt his own face grow a little warm. He wasn't exactly sure how to open up, even though he wanted too. He was definitely not used to or very good at all at expressing his feelings. They tore through book shelf after book shelf in silence for a while before Britney finally decided to try and break the ice.  
"So um…if you don't mind me asking, what exactly did Thor mean when he said you'd gone through something similar?" Loki did mind, he really didn't want to talk about it, but he'd promised her that they'd get to know each other, so he sighed heavily and grudgingly turned to look at her.  
"My real parents left me to die on Jotunheim, discarded me like a piece of garbage during a full blown war. Odin found me and took me back to Asgard with him and raised me in an attempt to bring peace between his people and the Jotun's, and he didn't even bother to tell me until I found out on my own when a Frost Giant touched me and my arm turned blue. I don't think he was ever going to tell me…" Britney's heart ached for him and she reached out to gently touch his hand.  
"I'm so sorry." Her touch and words comforted Loki in a way that he couldn't vocalize, so he only smiled and nodded in her direction.  
"Mythology never said all of that. Only that you were of Jotunheim, and I assumed when we met that they had it wrong when I heard you call Thor your brother and took notice that your skin was the wrong color." Loki laughed bitterly.  
"Of course they left it out, who wants to hear about some pathetic child whose father didn't want him at birth because he was weak and sickly?" Britney turned away from Loki and back to her work, unable to bear the pain etched into his features.  
"If it makes you feel any better, my mother was gone more than she was present and on the occasions that she was actually around she was drunk and abusive. Then she ran off with husband number four when I was twelve and I haven't seen or heard from her since." Loki shuddered a bit and it caught Britney completely off guard.  
"That doesn't make me feel better, that makes me furious. You shouldn't have had to live like that." Britney shrugged as she pulled out yet another large heap of Tony's junk to sift through.  
"And you shouldn't have had to grow up in Thor's shadow. You're everything a king should be, intelligent, brave, rational. I think you'd have been an excellent ruler, whereas Thor reacts solely on his emotions and nothing else. He's too impulsive to be king." Something about Loki changed when she said that, some of the sadness in his eyes seemed to lift and Britney swore she could see a hint of the first non-sarcastic or smirk-like smile of Loki's life. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Britney's squeals that she was having to muffle with her hand, as not to get them caught.  
"I found it!" It had been well hidden in Stark's twelfth library in the fourth row of books shoved inside a copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but she'd managed to find it. That ghost of a non-sarcastic smile on Loki's face broadened and he peered at the print from over her shoulder.  
"This is utterly fantastic, thank you." He said as he took the blue print from her to get a closer look, and for the first time in a very long time he truly meant it. Britney was elated, the genuine thank you gave her goose bumps, and she was very thankful that she'd actually been able to help him. He folded it a few times and stuck it in his armor.  
"We'll look over it more when we get back to your chambers, and from there we can try to devise our own reverse blue prints. Now we need to clean up and get out of here." Britney nodded in agreement and attempted to reach for her bag on the other side of Loki, and when Loki tried to help her pull it up she fell forward and their lips briefly brushed. Britney pulled back and retrieved her bag as quickly as possible, unable to look at Loki's face any longer for her own was turning purple.  
"Oh God I'm so sorry!" Only seconds later she was feeling Loki's hands forcing her face back towards his, his eyes melted pools of emerald that were for the first time unguarded.  
"Don't be…" He pulled her forward a little bit further, his lips moving against hers softly at first, cautiously. She opened her mouth to him and he slipped his tongue in, exploring her to his heart's content. It almost surprised Loki how right this felt to him, this girl felt like home, which was something he'd never truly had. That being said, he became a little more desperate with his kisses, biting at her bottom lip as she tugged lightly on his lush obsidian locks. They became so caught up in it all, the way it felt, the way they needed each other, that they didn't even notice when someone else entered the room.  
"Excuse me, but what the hell are you two doing in here?" Britney couldn't seem to find her voice, looking to Loki for help, who was also a bit breathless.  
"Michaela, yes? What does it look like we were doing? I was going to copulate with her in your library. We were kicked out of our apartment." He flashed a mischievous smirk and Britney about died beside him, which she was sure was why his smirk was only growing. Michaela, however, wasn't amused in the slightest.  
"Get out of my house! I'm calling Tony…" Loki through his head back in a laugh.  
"That's wonderful; I need to speak with him, actually." Britney smiled apologetically at her.  
"I'm sorry…um; we really do need to talk to your husband, that's why we're here." Michaela nodded but rolled her eyes.  
"Really? I thought you were here to screw." She muttered flatly, earning another laugh from Loki as she pulled out her phone and called Tony.  
Meanwhile, Emily had taken a vow of silence back at the apartment, not exactly the happiest with Thor as he'd been trying relentlessly since Britney and Loki left to get her to see his brothers side of things. Emily didn't want to see Loki's side of things, she'd tried that and it'd only allowed her friend to get hurt. She was in her bedroom once again, watching Friday the Thirteenth part 2, deciding to continue the marathon by herself and had locked Thor out. Having gotten rather lonely in the short twenty minutes that Emily had banished him from her sleeping quarters; Thor ventured out of the house and went to get her something special. Flowers were too common for his Emily, and as he understood it chocolate was meant for Valentine's Day, so Thor was pretty lost as to what he should buy her.  
It would be helpful if Loki's maiden was around. He thought glumly to himself, wandering around the streets of New York like a lost puppy. Puppy…yes, that was it! Thor had a sudden epiphany, remembering the way Emily had gotten teary eyed the previous week while watching that ASPCA commercial with the pretty song that he didn't understand. He stopped and grabbed the first person he saw off the street.  
"You, sir, can you tell me where I can buy some sort of animal?" The man stared at Thor's outfit in a bit of a daze while mumbling "There's a pet store on 38th…." Thor slapped him friendlily on the back.  
"Thank you kindly." Once inside, Thor reminded himself not to ask for a horse like he had last time; apparently you can't buy those in stores here. He walked around for a few moments, looking from tiny Chihuahuas with their big brown eyes to hounds the size of grown people. But amongst all the different kinds of dogs was a very small and very scared looking kitten. It was mostly gray, but calico, and had large yellow eyes and a sad cute little fuzzy face.  
"Well hello there, little one. Emily would like you, you're different." He scooped the kitten into his strong arms and carried it to the register.  
"Ah, we never thought we'd see this one go. She's a little mean, I warn you, she bites." The kitten gently held on to Thor's right hand and nibbled on it, licking and nuzzling it and then repeating. He chuckled and scratched it behind the ears.  
"She's just playing, I'll take her." He paid for the animal and picked up a litter box and collar.  
"I'll come back to get this engraved after she names it." He announced to the clerk as he walked out of her store and back to the apartment. He knocked very softly on her bedroom door, only to hear silence in return.  
"Come now, Emily. I've come to make amends…I brought you a present and…I promise to not speak of my brother." He could hear Emily sigh in defeat through the door, unable to handle that pouty little voice and he made a mental note of that. She opened the door to find Thor with his hands behind his back and a shit-faced grin consuming his features.  
"I was wondering if, not only would you forgive me but I've been doing some thinking and it would bring me great pleasure if you would go steady with me." He laid out his hands before her and revealed the teeny calico. Emily felt like the breath had been sucked straight out of her lungs as she looked from Thor to the adorable present in his arms.  
"Oh Thor I…" Her phone suddenly began to ring and she cursed under her breath. It was Britney, no doubt calling to drag them into another one of her and Loki's bad ideas. She decided to ignore the call as Thor reached out and took one of her hands.  
"If it sways your answer in any way…I'm the one that changed your ringtone to this. Britney showed me how. It made me think of us and how things would be if I had to go back to Asgard." She hadn't even noticed that her phone wasn't playing her normal "White and Nerdy" ringtone, but a cover of The Cure's song "Love Song" by Good Charlotte.  
However far away, I will always love you. However long I stay, I will always love you.  
"Thor." Was all she was able to whimper as she pulled him into a chaste kiss.  
"I would love to be your girlfriend. And the kitten is adorable, thank you, but you didn't need to get me a cat to apologize to me." Thor laughed.  
"But you're worth more to me than the flowers that men get other women." Emily didn't have anything to say to that, she only kissed him again and he laid his forehead against hers.  
"What are you going to name her?" She looked down at her phone, which had already stopped ringing and started up again as Britney called for the second time.  
"How about Charlotte? And I'll call her Charlie for short." Thor gently ran his fingers through her long brunette waves and smiled.  
"It's our song then."  
Back at Tony's, Britney was becoming awfully frustrated.  
"Loki, she isn't picking up." Loki wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head.  
"It's okay, darling, we don't need them." Tony rolled his eyes.  
"Uh yeah, we kind of do. You need me to help you make a machine to reverse the affects of a separate machine that I also apparently built, with blueprints you just tried to steal from me. I need conformation from Thor that I can not only trust the two of you, but that everything you say happened actually did." Loki rolled his eyes.  
"Yes, because Thor's ever the good brother. What I would give to see him lie through his teeth…" Britney snickered.  
"I've seen it…I made him lie to Fury." The laughter that ripped through Loki was inevitable, but the absolute awe and adoration he held in his eyes for this girl caught Tony off guard. He turned to his wife and sighed.  
"Michaela, can we trust the dynamic duo over here?" She shrugged.  
"They're disgusting and both compulsive liars, but those blue prints look authentic. There is no way they could have forged a S.H.I.E.L.D blueprint that easily….and I did find them in our library, the place half destroyed. Their story checks out." Tony looked at the couple before him, seemingly in love and definitely on a mission. Michaela was right, and against his better judgment, it seemed he had no choice but to put his faith in these two.  
"Okay, if I'm the one who did this, I want to fix it. But let me make something very clear, if either of you do anything to betray Michaela and I, I will have you both turned in to Fury immediately." Loki and Britney locked eyes briefly, the almost identical smirk on both of their faces widening.  
"When do we begin?"


	7. Elvish Endeavors

The construction of the new machine was taking far longer than any of them would have liked, but as Tony kept saying, patience was a virtue. Too bad it was something Loki Laufeyson was seriously lacking in. It had been an entire two months since Loki and Britney had found those blueprints and the machine was still only partially constructed. Of course, Loki had occupied his time with trying to break out of his own walls and let Britney in, but it seemed patience was a virtue when it came to that as well. To say the two had gotten closer was an understatement, they'd been practically inseparable and every now and then Loki would break down and tell her a few things about himself, her reciprocating and the event from the library would repeat itself.  
The problem was that what had taken Emily and Thor three weeks to accomplish still hadn't happened with this pair, they still weren't together. Britney wanted it, oh how badly she wanted it, but she could now officially say that she knew Loki, and she knew better than to make a move before he was ready. Essentially this meant it was him that would have to make the official leap from platonic friend to boyfriend, if he by some sort of miracle came to terms with the fact that that was what he wanted. Loki was working on it, he really was, and as it neared the anniversary of the night they met, he thought he would finally tell her that he wanted to court her. Loki couldn't say whether or not what he felt was love or merely deep friendship, but it was no matter to him, it was still the most he'd ever cared for another. Loki knew that it mattered to her though, he could see it in her eyes when she looked at Emily and Thor, the jealously. That was why he knew that courtship was the next step, he'd find out if he was in love with her or not through that, because there was simply no other way. He couldn't bear for another day to go by where she was just as jealous of what his brother had as he was.  
For an entire morning Britney and Loki were almost completely on the same page. Loki wanted to date her, she wanted to date him, and you'd think that would be enough for two people to finally go after one another, but of course, as it always seemed to be with these two, it wasn't. Loki walked into her bedroom that morning and crawled into bed with her, stroking her face gently until her eyes began to flutter open.  
"Good morning, Fair One. Did you sleep well?" Britney giggled and tried to hide under her covers.  
"Don't look at me; I'm hideous when I wake up in the mornings!" Loki scoffed playfully and jerked the covers back.  
"Britney Alaine Erhardt, don't you lie to me. You're the cutest little thing in the mornings. Like a little troll baby with your hair messy like that." He teased, earning a light smack as she burrowed further into her sheets.  
"See? I'm a ugly as a troll." Loki sighed and went under after her, pulling her against his chest and nibbling on her neck.  
"If you were a troll, my dear, would an Asgardian prince be after your affections?" Britney snickered and laced her fingers with his, giving them a squeeze.  
"So Thor seeks my affections?" Loki tried and failed not to chuckle.  
"Ouch, I'm hurt, maiden." He pulled her on top of him and softly captured her lips, aching to ask her the question burning under his skin.  
"I'm sorry, my king, how shall I make it up to you?" She whispered, nuzzling into his neck. Loki was about to respond with "Well being my girlfriend would be a good start." But there was a knock on the door before he could even get the first word out. As if an unspoken promise to her that he'd ask when he returned, he pulled her into a deep kiss before getting up to answer the door.  
"What in the name of Odin do you want, Thor, I am kind of in the middle of something." He snapped, folding his arms across his chest and glaring heavily at his brother. Thor peeked inside her room and caught her trying to comb her messy hair out with her fingers, still wrapped in her sheets in nothing but a baby pink nightgown waiting on Loki to return.  
"Ah were you and Lady Britney frolicking intimately in the sac, hm?" Loki sputtered a little, looking from Britney to the floor.  
"No, Thor, not anything like that you perverted little buffoon, what do you want?!" He spat bitterly, only growing more irritated as Thor burst into laughter.  
"Never fret brother, I'm only joshing. I came to tell you that Tony called, he has finished a rather large piece to the machine today, I thought you'd be happy to hear." Loki's face turned red.  
"Only a piece? How long does it take to make—ugh this is madness!" Thor put his face in his hands.  
"Loki, the man is working as fast as he can. I personally don't understand this obsession of yours to make people remember, do you honestly want your lady to remember all the terrible things that you've done?" And just like that, Thor ruined everything. One little sentence had torn away any and all hope there was that Loki was finally going to ask Britney out, no, he'd killed it.  
"I…" He trailed off and turned to the woman he'd just about asked to court him, watching her sit innocently on the edge of her bed, mumbling untranslatable words as she flipped through her diary, which she'd confided in him one night that she'd written completely in Elvish so no one could understand it. His little nerd, and oh how he was falling in love with her. She was too good for him, and as much as he hated to put her through it all again, he just couldn't stay with her. He couldn't stay and love her more, only to have her turn away from him when she remembered everything he'd once dreamed this realm would remember. He and she were simply not meant to be.  
"Thor could you…could you give us a minute? Alone?" Thor looked a little confused, not really realizing how much his words had affected his brother, but he nodded and left the room quickly. Loki shut the door and walked over to his love, oh his little love with his favorite brown eyes, and the smile he'd surely miss when he departed from here. But what other choice did he have? He didn't belong here. She looked up at him and smiled her most delicate smile, reaching out for his hand.  
"Loki, can I ask you something?" Loki's heart was breaking, his eyes filled with tears because he knew how fragile she was and how she'd take this, she had become his best and only friend these last two months, and this is the last thing he ever wanted to say to her.  
"What is it, my angel?" His voice was a ghost of a whisper and the term of endearment that he called her so naturally had un-willfully slipped out. He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, but Britney didn't seem to notice, as she was looking at her hands, something he'd noticed she did when she was nervous.  
"Loki, I think you know by now that you're someone very close to me. I was just wondering if…you felt anything towards me as more than a friend." Britney couldn't breathe, part of her knew this was the wrong move, but all that kissing had driven her nearly mad, she had to know. Loki memorized the way her fair, soft skin felt in his hand as he clutched it for what he thought would be the last time, and then released it, turning from her as to not see her face when he said the evil words on his tongue.  
"No." He lied.  
"I don't even like you as a friend, and you know what else? I wish we'd never met. You're a stupid and immature little girl, and I was wrong to think there could be anything between us." There was an almost tangible silence and Loki snuck a peak at her briefly, which was definitely the wrong move. Her face was completely void of emotion except for the expression written in her eyes, pure loneliness and utter sadness.  
"I don't believe you. You've said all this before, and yet you came back for me. It's a defense mechanism, Loki, you think people get too close and then you shut them out. You can't keep doing that to people, not the people that love you the most, or you'll only further the loneliness of yourself and everyone around you." Britney wanted to smack herself…she'd spoken the forbidden word without even meaning too, the "L" word. Loki flinched, screwing his eyes closed and clinching his fists. Damn her for being right.  
"You're more pathetic than I imagined. I hate you, can't you understand that?" Britney laughed coldly, something that in no way sounded natural to Loki.  
"No, I don't understand. I don't understand how you can kiss me one moment and hate me the next, you are a liar!" She screamed, walking to him and forcing him to look at her. Loki's eyes were betraying him and he knew it, he could see the way they made the ice in her own soften. He choked down the bile rising in the back of his throat, his disgust for himself and his remorse, and shook his head at her.  
"Namarie." He whispered, using what little Elvish she'd taught to him. Britney had known that was the one word she should have never taught him—farewell. No, Britney was not going to let him walk out on her again, no one throws her out twice, it wasn't happening. This time, it would be her that walked away.  
"Amin feuya ten' lle, ego mibo Orch!" She spat, tears spilling over as she pushed him hard and ran from her bedroom. Loki, a little bewildered, went and looked for one of her fantasy books under her bed, the one that held some translations for that language.  
"You disgust me…go kiss an Orc. Well, I don't know what an Orc is, but I can guess that isn't pleasant." He mumbled, running a hand through his hair and wiping away a few stray tears. He wished he hadn't had to hurt her. It wasn't very long at all before Emily was barging into the room.  
"What in the name of all that is holy did you do to her?! She refuses to speak English, Loki, and she hasn't been stuck in dork-language mode since our senior year when her last boyfriend cheated on her with half the cheer squad on her birthday!" Loki shot her a tight lipped smile.  
"It's none of your concern." Emily grabbed him roughly by his hair.  
"Excuse me? No, this is every bit of my concern; she got in her car and drove off screaming about wanting to get wasted." Loki's eyebrows rose.  
"I thought she wasn't speaking English." Emily rolled her eyes.  
"She wasn't, dick bag, the last time someone hurt her like this she spoke the damn language for a year, I had to learn to at least half way speak Nerd." Loki's eyes darkened and he yanked her hand from his hair.  
"Don't speak of her as if she's a burden to you." Emily's anger had reached a boiling point, but she was unable to do anything but walk away for fear that she'd actually kill him.  
"Burden to me? If anyone acts as if she's a burden, it's you." She spat, stalking from the room and asking Thor to hold her. Loki walked to the door, overhearing Thor ask if Britney would be okay.  
"I don't think so, Thor, I really don't. She's not a pretty drunk, I'd go after her to make sure she didn't hurt herself but she didn't say where she was going. I just hope she comes home soon and then we can figure out how to slowly force the English language upon her again."  
Of course, I had to fall in love with the impulsive one; I can't leave until I know she isn't in any danger. He thought angrily, knowing in his heart that this had all been so stupid anyway. Loki teleported to a place where her energy was the strongest, it was a bar not too awfully far from the apartment. It wasn't hard to spot the golden angel in her nightgown, who had only bothered to grab a trench coat on her way out to wrap around her. She'd brushed her hair out in the car he'd assumed, as it was back to looking smooth and silky. She was uttering things that the bartender obviously didn't understand, and they were both getting frustrated.  
"Ni faug…" She kept whispering, though no one understood and so no one served her. Loki sighed, it was taking all his strength not to walk over and smack the daylights out of the server, she was obviously asking for a drink. Though what was obvious to Loki, whom had just spent two months trapped in this girls world wasn't so normal to everyone else. A few moments later, a tall man in a suit approached Britney, a look in his eyes that Loki in no way trusted, so he moved in just a bit closer.  
"Ma'am, as a businessman, I speak a lot of different languages. Chinese, Japanese, Swahili, but you're speaking something I've never heard before. You must be awfully far from home, is that a mandarin dialect you're using?" Britney looked up at him glumly and shook her head.  
"Ú-thand." He chuckled creepily, reaching out and cupping her cheek.  
"I don't understand a word your saying, gorgeous. I love it when I meet foreign women I can't understand, something about that's kind of hot." Britney turned purple and looked away, and Loki was praying to the gods that it was an uncomfortable purple and not the kind she'd turn around him.  
She's not foreign, she lives right down the street you pompous old fool. To say that Loki was brooding and on edge was an understatement, he was tense, ten seconds away from murdering this man, and about to have a mental break down. The stranger petted her hair for a moment and leaned in, Loki becoming quite pleased when she pushed him away.  
"Baw!" She huffed, turning around in her seat to where she wasn't facing him. Loki was just thinking to himself that he should leave, he'd taught his maiden well, she could fare on her own. But the moment he turned his back and headed towards the exit, that melodious voice that haunted him in his dreams rang out in pain, something he'd never been able to handle hearing in her.  
"Nîdh!" Loki recognized that word from the many times Britney had accidently hurt herself, she was klutzy you see, which Loki found to be adorable. It Hurts. That was what Nîdh meant, and when Loki turned to see the strange businessman yanking Britney's hair back and forcing her into a kiss, something clicked within Loki. He was no longer unsure whether or not she was more to him than a best friend, he was no longer afraid to say to her what he felt, and most importantly, he was no longer afraid of hurting her. In that moment it was clear to him that he could never do to her what that man was doing, or anything else that may cause her harm, because his instinct to protect her was stronger than he'd ever dared imagine when they met. His love for her was that previously unnamed emotion that made his heart ache when he was near her, the driving factor of his possessiveness and jealousy, what made his body feel too warm and vulnerable yet strangely safe on those nights that he confided in her. Britney was dorky, weak, too kind for her own good, optimistic yet slightly introverted, and she was the strangest person in the nine realms that he'd ever met, yet Loki, son of Laufey and renowned God of mischief, had fallen helplessly in love with her.  
"Get your ungodly hands off of her, she's mine!" Loki sneered, an almost inhuman growl ripping through his chest as he very tenderly, as not to hurt her any further, tore the mans fingers from her hair and shoved him off of her.  
"I saw her first, freak; I bet you don't even know where she's from." The stranger challenged.  
"She's from somewhere in-between none of your damn business and if you touch my girlfriend again I will kill you." By this time the bar had grown quiet and everyone was looking in their direction. Britney had hid behind Loki, who was now inches away from the man's face.  
"You'll kill me huh? Over some mandarin slut?" Loki grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.  
"I've killed over less. Now, I dare you to call her a slut once more." The man, now struggling to breathe, choked out slut as best he could manage. Loki smiled his rawest, evilest smile and shrugged his shoulders.  
"So be it." He snapped the man's neck in one swift motion and dropped his body to the floor carelessly. The rest of the people in the bar all reacted at once, some fleeing, others charging at Loki. He picked Britney up in his arms bridal style and they quickly disappeared before everyone's eyes. Britney was trembling in his arms, and he knew that killing him in front of her had been a mistake, but to him it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore besides her safety. They had ended up back in Britney's room and he pinned her against the wall.  
"What on Earth were you thinking? Going to a place like that alone, I don't care how badly I hurt your feelings, never put yourself in danger like that again, do you understand me?!" He barked, his damp eyes only mirroring hers.  
"Why do you care?" Her first English words in about an hour were icy and shouted, something that wounded him more than he'd like to admit. A simultaneous tear treaded down both of their cheeks, and for some reason this pissed him off.  
"Because I love you!" He screamed, the words hung thick and heavily in the air, nearly suffocating them both.  
"Y-You what?" He ever so softly brushed the tears from her face and took a deep breath, lowering his voice to avoid shouting at her again, which he hated doing.  
"Ci veleth e-guil nîn." He whispered, not knowing how she would react considering what all had just happened. Britney was dangerously close to fainting, the man she loved had just killed someone and then told her she was the love of his life in a language she'd half way taught him. She didn't know if she was happier or more terrified, but there was something about Loki that made her love him and remain unafraid of him no matter what he did.  
"I love you too, so much." She whispered back, finally losing consciousness and falling into his arms. He carried her back to her bed and curled up with her.  
"Forgive me, Fair One, I'll make this up to you, I promise." Unbeknown to him, Emily had been standing in the doorway for quite a while. She smiled to herself and sighed. Loki was so wrong for her, but so right at the exact same time. It was hard for her to say whether or not they would make it, but it was clear that fate had brought them together for a reason, and she was fairly certain that no matter how soon, Britney had made a decent choice.  
Maybe Thor was right. Emily thought. There's more to Loki than just a fallen prince.


	8. Ascending to Asgard

The sun had risen the next morning and Loki found himself in Britney's bed. He'd stayed with her the rest of the previous day, feeling as if he owed her the comfort. His arms were securely wrapped around her, and she was curled into his chest, unconsciously nuzzling into his neck. This pleased him far more than he'd care to admit, though he supposed that since he'd now said the infamous "L" word that a lot more of this would happen, and he'd have to own up to enjoying it. Enjoying it as he was, he kissed the top of her head and carefully untangled their bodies, slipping out of bed.

He quickly found the precious little device he knew Britney loved to play music on, an iPod if he remembered correctly, and unplugged the headphones. He turned it up and laid it at his place on the bed, putting her favorite Ed Sheeran song on repeat and then disappearing for the next item he needed. A red suitcase was to be found under her bed, which he filled with the outfits he liked best from her closet and dresser. He also packed a few of her favorite books (namely The Hobbit and The Vampire Diaries series) and then left to go get a few necessities that couldn't be found in her room.

When Britney awoke she was more than slightly confused. The first thing she heard was the soft rapture of "I See Fire" and she believed herself to still be dreaming, as she'd dreamed of mountains being licked by flames dancing in a bright auburn glow that seemed to be emanating from a beautiful forest. When she reached for Loki and found him not, her eyes flew open wide in frantic search for him.

"Loki?" There was of course no answer since he'd been gone now for several minutes, and it terrified her. After the day they'd gone through yesterday she feared he'd truly left her this time. It wasn't until she got up to use the bathroom that she noticed her suitcase was out and packed full of her belongings, a note perched neatly on top.

My fairest maiden, 

I know you're probably worried after the events of our last morning together, but please do not trouble yourself so. I am simply out at the commoners market…what do you call it? Wal-mart? I had some things to pick up, and I do believe you'll be quite surprised, if not overjoyed to see them. See you when your beauty sleep ceases, though I assure you that you need not anymore, as you are already more beautiful than the rarest and most treasured gold.

-Loki

Britney couldn't help but grin from one ear to the other, her day having been absolutely made. She had no clue as to why he had packed her a suitcase, but he had done so without any explanation on the note, so she decided to let it go until he returned to her. She went to her closet to see what was left out of the things he'd packed and she put on a heather gray drop-waist sweater dress that was a delicate pink at the skirt, topping it all off with the same matching flats that you've previously read about her wearing. She skipped happily into Thor and Emily's room, where she was sure she had interrupted something. Thor had quite a hold on Emily's headboard and from the sound of it, it was about to snap in two. Emily couldn't be seen, as Thor's naked body was hovering over her, but Britney had seen quite enough to know what was taking place and that she didn't want to be there.

Thor didn't even take notice to the sound of a door opening or the muffled squeak that followed because it was punctuated with the door quickly closing and he figured it would be a long while before anyone would ever be intruding again. Emily tried to peak around him but to no avail, as his toned body was large enough to shield her from anything outside of himself.

"Did you hear something?" Thor chuckled.

"Take no notice of it my love, I think it was the cat." That made sense to Emily, Charlie had gotten quite a bit larger and a little squirrely, just last week she'd ruined Britney's favorite drapes (which Loki punished her for by having her declawed, which Emily still didn't know about) and tore holes into all the chip bags in the pantry.

"Charlie loves to climb things now, I bet you're right. Isn't she the cutest?" Thor just nodded, but didn't say much, feeling guilty that Charlie wouldn't be climbing much of anything anymore. Loki had made him promise to help care for the cat's stitches in secret after Britney had informed him Emily would be pissed when she found out. Thor pushed all thoughts of that from his mind, smiling down at the beautiful woman before him.

"I love you." It was hard for Emily to swallow this, as you know by now I'm sure that she's the type to take things nice and slow. However, the gorgeous blonde god had made her feel things the last three months that she'd never felt before, thus how she'd ended up in bed with him. Emily knew that she loved him, if she didn't she wouldn't have allowed the situation at hand to occur, but believe it or not Emily Jane Brooks was quite shy with her feelings despite her more aggressive nature. One would suppose she was a lot like Loki in that aspect, which is probably why they butted heads so often. Thor knew this, which is why he by no means expected to hear it back. Yet there they were, making love for the very first time and there was no way she'd have let it get this far if her feelings were not reciprocated. She ran a hand through his long blonde locks and sighed, coming to terms with the fact now was the time to say it.

"I l-lov—" Thor chuckled and his eyes twinkled, unperturbed by her inability to say it, he knew she felt it deep inside.

"It's okay Emily, you don't have to say it." She reached up and kissed him lightly, shaking her head.

"No I want too. I…I love you, Thor. I truly do." Making him immensely happy, Thor grabbed her up in his arms and passionately re-began the events that had halted when Britney had walked into the room.

Meanwhile Britney was sitting glumly in her room, while she was happy for her friend she was a little sad she'd lost the bet they had when they were younger at who would lose their virginity first. She wasn't so much sad she hadn't done that with Loki, as she was positive they weren't ready, but she was sad that her wallet was about to be fifty dollars smaller. When Loki finally returned she had just finished fixing her hair in what she called a "Katniss Braid" (I assume everyone knows what that looks like) which was why she'd originally gone to Emily and Thor's room, to get some help, but she'd managed on her own.

"You look lovely." Loki said sweetly, earning a blush from his girlfriend. Loki was feeling particularly not himself today, he felt…mushy. He thought maybe it was because he was nervous to execute his plans for the day, or maybe because he had just now finally admitted his feelings to her and to himself; but overall he didn't entirely hate this feeling or what it was making him do, so long as it stayed between him and his woman, as not to look weak to the rest of the world. He walked briskly to her and pulled her into a very rough kiss, which was a signal to Britney that he was either very anxious, very angry, or very horny. She'd noticed over the three and a half months that she'd known him that his kisses varied with his mood. When he was relaxed or just particularly happy they were soft sweet romantic kisses and any other time they were like this. He showed no signs of being angry, and since he'd gone through all that trouble with the iPod and the note she figured it was his nerves. The kiss was searing and left her a little dazed, which made Loki smirk.

"So what was all that with Wal-Mart and Ed Sheeran?" She asked flirtatiously, twirling the hair at the end of her braid with her finger. Loki's eyes gleamed playfully and he pulled her against him gently.

"I was looking around for you a present and I didn't want you to wake up while I was leaving so, I was hoping the song would lull you to sleep. I remembered you saying he had the voice of an angel, so…" He trailed off, a small but bright smile tugging at his lips. Britney wrapped her arms around his neck and touched her forehead to his.

"A present? Why? Loki darling you didn't have to—" Loki put a finger to her lips and shushed her as if they were in some sort of cliché western movie.

"I wanted too, I needed to make up for yesterday, I felt really bad." Britney nuzzled into him and he squeezed her softly.

"You did make up for it, you told me that you loved me. That's all I could ever ask for." While this confession surprised Loki a bit, he would be lying if he said it didn't brighten his dark little world. It made his heart swell in ways he'd never known to be possible and he very delicately pulled her lips into one of his soft kisses.

"Well that's a given, my fair one, you're the only woman I've ever taken the time to know and love. No one else has ever met my fancy, they weren't special enough." Her grip on him tightened and she entwined her fingers in his hair.

"I love you too, you know. I don't remember if I told you before I passed out or not, but I do. You've become…everything to me." Loki chuckled very lovingly and pulled away.

"I know, love, I've always known." He then pulled something out of his pocket.

"Wal-Mart didn't have what I was looking for, so I had to shop around, but I finally found it in a store selling that cosplay stuff I've heard you mention. I really hope you like it." He added almost shyly. Her eyes fell to his open hand, and in it there was a silver chain. Upon the chain was a white gem that looked like a star and Britney's breath was knocked clean out of her.

"The Evenstar…" For those of you that don't know, the Evenstar was a symbol of the undying love between Aragorn and Arwen in The Lord of The Rings. In Loki's mind, if Britney spoke Elvish then there was absolutely no reason why this couple couldn't represent them. After all, to Loki, their new found love had the potential to be just as everlasting, and he knew his nerd would go crazy for this.

"Oh Loki, I love it." He grinned.

"I knew you would." He hung it around her neck and clasped it for her, going in for another kiss.

"Alright angel, grab your suitcase, we're heading out." She grabbed her knitted Slytherin purse and slipped her iPod in it after reacquainting it with her headphones.

"Yeah I noticed that you'd packed me a suitcase, where are we going?" Loki grabbed her hand after bringing her luggage to her and shrugged.

"It's a surprise. Come on, we have to go outside, I can't just teleport to where we're going." They walked passed Thor and Emily's room to the front door where Britney mentioned to Loki what she'd walked in on. Loki of course, found this to be hilarious instead of disturbing and they laughed about it and joked amongst themselves until they reached the front yard.

"Heimdall! Open the bifrost!" Loki knew that this was dangerous, as he'd been in a cell the last time he was in Asgard, but he needed to go back and he wasn't leaving without Britney as dangerous as it was. Loki was half afraid that he'd refuse, but sure enough a vortex to the rainbow bridge opened up and he and Britney were pulled inside.


	9. Fallen Friendships

After their sexual escapade that morning, each took a shower and Emily was finally able to convince Thor to put on the Midgardian clothing she'd bought for him. He slipped on the tight white T-Shirt and dark-wash jeans and pulled his hair back. They snuggled up on the couch together and Emily reached for the remote, turning it to Fox News and hoping to see her friend.

"Britney gets to report sometimes and she had work today so, let's see what's going on." They saw Britney all right, but not in the way that they were hoping. All seemed well enough at first, Bob Cusack was doing a segment with Bill O'Reilly and the topic had been about Hillary Clinton's supposed decision to run for president in 2016. Same old same old, right? Well they were nearing the Pinheads and Patriots segment and Bob Cusack had quickly gone away, allowing the latter to continue on with his show.

"There goes our hopes of seeing Britney, what the heck is O'Reilly doing on at ten in the morning?" Thor grabbed the remote and pressed the guide button, which Emily had just taught him how to do a few days prior.

"It's a repeat from last night." Emily rolled her eyes.

"Well that's stupid, America's Newsroom should be on live right now…" Thor shrugged.

"Maybe they had to cancel it due to a bunch of people being absent? It's starting to get really icy here in New York, they may not have been able to go to work." Emily seemed to ponder this for a moment before retorting "Yeah but Britney would have stayed home right? She's not here…" By the time the conversation had reached this point, O'Reilly had finished talking about last night's Patriot and had moved on to the Pinhead category.

"Tonight's Pinhead was an oddly dressed Caucasian male caught on tape murdering a forty-five year old businessman from West Virginia. The victim, an executive in the meat industry and multi-millionaire, Miles Declan, was harassing a meek blonde woman at the bar and paid for it with a broken neck. The tapes end here but sources say the woman was later snatched by the man and the two disappeared. Why is he a Pinhead, you ask, for helping that innocent woman? The answer is simply that two wrongs don't make a right, and if you are to kill someone, why do it in a public place where God and everyone can see you?" Emily's mouth dropped open and she began to shake.

"T-Thor…Loki….h-he…." Thor took a deep breath as if to calm himself and then wrapped his arms around Emily.

"It's alright, my love. I'm sure he didn't kidnap Britney, I mean, she's his girlfriend, she trusts him no matter what and I'm sure she went with him willingly." Emily's head very slowly turned towards her boyfriend.

"That is so not even the problem! Yeah I bet she did tag along with her perfect 'I can do no wrong boyfriend', but your brother killed another human being, Thor!" Thor put his head in his hands and sighed.

"I know. That means we can't stay here any longer, we can't have him getting arrested." Emily turned purple.

"And why is that? Why is it so bad that he be punished for his crimes? He is supposed to be locked away anyway, do you even realize that I've been housing a fugitive in two different realms?!" Thor sighed again, blanching when he looked into the furious eyes of the woman he loved.

"My dear, I know this. Believe me I do, but Heimdall sees all. If my parents wanted Loki back in his cell he would be there, they know where he is. I figured that meant there was a purpose for them allowing his freedom, and I decided early on I was not to interrupt. Especially since he met Britney, I figured she would keep him in line." Emily shook her head spitefully, becoming more and more angry at not only Loki, but at her friend.

"Yeah well Britney's moral scruples aren't nearly as high as I had hoped when we met. She just goes along with whatever he wants because she is the biggest pushover on the face of this friggin planet and I am sick of it. This ends today, Thor, do you know where they are?" She demanded, looking him hard in his concerned crystal blue eyes. He didn't say anything but offered her his hand, helping her off the couch. He walked her outside and shot her a grave look.

"This is just a hunch of mine, but the way Loki's been acting lately I've suspected that he wanted to show Britney something in Asgard. When he and I were little there was this special place…just…I'll explain it on the way there, okay?"

Meanwhile, Britney and Loki had reached the entrance to Asgard and came to face Heimdall. Heimdall grimaced when he saw them approach, obviously not at all happy to see the man who'd once frozen him.

"I warn you, Loki. You are not here out of the kindness of my heart. You are being taken to Odin and more than likely back to your cell shortly." Britney squeezed Loki's hand reassuringly and stepped closer to him for her own comfort.

"You know nothing. I bet you haven't even seen with that all-seeing eye of yours who is standing right behind you." Heimdall glanced over his shoulder briefly, but just briefly enough for Loki to tighten his grip on Britney and disappear into Asgard. His emerald eyes brightened and he grinned at her.

"You're amazing…" Britney reached up and tenderly brushed his obsidian mane from his eyes and smiled.

"I don't like already how people treat you here, and I certainly don't want to see you taken back to imprisonment. You deserve better." He took her hand in his and brought their lips together, kissing her with force yet it was soft as a caress and he pulled her against his chest once they'd pulled away.

"I love you." Britney giggled happily and lay her head on his chest.

"I love you too." Loki was quiet for a moment before adding "I have a very special place to show you here and…I want you to meet my mother." A light gasp escaped Britney's lips and she gazed up at him.

"Really? But what if…what if she doesn't like me?" Loki laughed gently and kissed the top of her head.

"Oh fair angel, how could she not? You're very kind and intelligent, and you see past the bad and love the good regardless. You're the best person I've ever met." Britney almost snorted. She, in her own opinion, wasn't a very good person at all. She was insecure, felt as if she couldn't do much of anything correctly, and was a tad on the shallow end, if being shallow and insecure at the same time makes much sense. But she figured she was nice enough if Loki said so, and he did, so she didn't comment.

Asgard was like nothing she had ever seen before. Everything seemed golden to Britney, as if the entire realm was dusted with a bronze hue that fit perfectly with the warm breeze in the air. Far away as they were, Britney could clearly see what she assumed was the palace, and it took her breath away.

"Is that where we're going?" She pointed a slender finger to the large almost pyramid shaped castle, the shiniest of the golden buildings. Loki beamed and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Yes. That is my home. I would have already taken us inside, but I wanted to show you what my realm looks like. This is the place we're going to rule one day." Britney's breath hitched in the back of her throat and Loki smirked.

"What? You don't expect me to rule without a queen by my side do you?" A bright red blush crept up Britney's face and her heart nearly exploded with feelings as her big brown eyes met Loki's oddly gentle green ones.

"Is that a proposal?" She asked playfully, and whilst Loki knew she was playing, he hoped she knew how serious he really was.

"Would you like it to be?" For once in their courtship Loki was the one ready and willing to commit, he was eager to drop to his knee and claim her as his because after their adventure in the bar he knew that his possessiveness was leading in this direction anyway. However, Britney couldn't bring herself to say anything, and her silence deflated his ego a bit. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently, dismissing the thought and leading her in the direction of the palace.

Once inside, Loki deftly made his way through the halls, and was largely unnoticed, although it took a lot of effort to conceal Britney as well as himself. They were able to make it back to Loki's old bedroom pretty quickly, and because of orders from Frigga none of his stuff had been bothered. He closed the door behind him quickly and turned to the room with an almost sad expression. His eyes seemed a darker green and his face was solemn, he moved slowly to his old bed and sat as if he were afraid that the rest of the room would betray him. The walls were a dark green and the soft carpet was midnight black, causing Loki's hair and eyes to look very dark and gloomy, but Britney was unable to tell if it was the room doing so or not. She hesitantly sat down beside him and took his hand.

"Are you alright?" He shrugged.

"I'm not sure exactly. It's been a very long time since I've seen this room. I never thought Mother would go to such great lengths to keep it this way…nothing has been touched since the day I last slept in here." Britney's grip on his hand tightened.

"She did it because she loves you. She wants you to be able to come back here and not be in your cell, I'd bet. Maybe she's spoken to your father?" Loki laughed bitterly.

"I'm sure she has. Up until I met you I've often considered my mother to be the only person who really loves me, but love me as she does she can't change my father. No one can change the great Odin, oh no, not even the supposed love of his life. He is a fat, pompous, ill-tempered old tyrant, and I've always resented the way he treats Mother…as if she has no opinions of her own. He values not that she cares about me, he lets her keep my room this way and he lets her keep my cell more like a barred bedroom than a prison only to keep her at bay. If he really valued what she had to say or her feelings, then I would have served my punishment serving the people of Asgard and been given my room back like she'd asked." Loki liked it when he got time to open up to Britney about these type things, it always felt like enormous weights were being lifted off his heart.

"She sounds like a very kind woman. I bet she'll be over the moon to see you again." Loki smiled and his eyes seemed to lighten back up a bit.

"I hope so. I am taking you to her, but you may want to make yourself comfortable here first. I don't know how long we're staying but I packed you over half your closet. You can hang your clothes in with mine in my own closet, and your suitcase should fit in the floor of it. Britney was quite surprised when she opened his closet door. There were rows of various armors and green capes and even some mail if you can believe it, but there were also regular Midgardian-looking clothes although not much. She raised her eyebrow as she hung some of her dresses.

"What are these for?" Loki shrugged again.

"Eh, that's some god-awful Midgardian attire I acquired on my first ever trip there. Mainly suits, but I suppose I should take some of it with me if we ever go back there." Britney noticed the "if we ever go back there" bit and shot him a look, but Loki's Cheshire grin only widened. Looking at their clothing mixed together in his closet only furthered his feelings about finalizing their relationship. Britney closed the closet door, a sudden curiousness bubbling up inside of her.

"You know…what you said earlier, about ruling Asgard? I thought we were going to rule Midgard." Loki laughed and his entire face lit up with a thousand watt smile.

"Yes fair one, now you are grasping the idea of 'we'." This made him happier than he'd anticipated it would, and he got off his bed immediately and pinned her against his bedroom wall.

"I want to rule nothing more than I do Asgard, I've lived here all my life minus my birth on Jotunheim. I am settling for Midgard for now if Stark can get that blasted machine finished…but one day, you and I will return here as King and Queen, I promise you that. It will be our heirs sitting on the throne when we die, and we'll take our last breaths right here in the palace, in one another's arms." Britney flushed and looked down at her hands.

"Are you sure you want me around that long?" Loki leaned in, stopping an inch away from her lips and breathing hotly against her face.

"Darling, I want to marry you." Britney didn't know how Loki had come to this conclusion so quickly, but she didn't protest. She crushed their faces together, much to Loki's delight, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Excuse me, but fuck no, get your hands off of her right now!" They heard Emily's shrill voice call from behind them.

"I knew she'd be here, see? Loki's room is precious to him, he hardly left it in his youth. Granted this is not the special place I was talking about but I assume they just haven't gotten there yet." Thor's voice was rather chipper, but Emily looked like she could cut someone any second. Loki chuckled.

"Oh you thought I was going to take her to that cavern near the dungeons where we used to pretend we were exploring Nidavellir. Well I thought about it, but not much of our play things are down there anymore I don't believe. Father didn't like us pretending to be dwarves." Thor laughed.

"I remember that, he went on some sort of rant on how there were better inhabitants of the nine realms to look up too, which I always thought was harsh." Loki shot his brother a knowing look.

"Well we don't exactly have a kind fath—" Loki didn't get to finish that sentence, as he was cut off.

"Now Loki, please don't say such things." Everyone turned around to see none other than Frigga herself standing in the doorway.

"Mother!" Both Thor and Loki shouted at the same time. She hugged Thor and then walked to the back of the room where Loki and Britney were standing, taking Loki's face in her hands and shaking her head at him.

"I never thought I'd see you again, my sweet little Loki." She whispered, pulling him into a hug and allowing her tears to fall.

"Come now Mother, please don't cry. Father couldn't keep us apart forever." Emily wasn't even excited to see the Queen, as she was furious with both Loki and Britney and her anger was only festering because she couldn't seem to get a word in edgewise. Frigga, however, was greatly excited to see the girls.

"Are these your mates? Oh boys, they're beautiful!" Loki pulled Britney to his side and kissed her temple.

"I know she is, she's perfect, I'm sure you'll love her." She beamed.

"Oh I'm sure I will, she seems like she's taking good care of you, that's all I've ever wanted anyone to do. Are you here to stay? I can try to speak to your Father again, though I'm not sure how that will turn out and I don't want you to get returned to your cell." That did it, Emily exploded.

"But he deserves to be locked away! He killed someone!" Frigga was startled at first, but then understanding washed over her face as she looked from Emily back to her son.

"Oh Loki, I thought you'd learned your lesson all this time that you've been imprisoned." Not being able to handle his mother sounding ashamed of him, Loki immediately jumped on the defensive.

"But the man was trying to hurt Britney!" He said as he gestured to her.

"He would have raped her had I not done what I did." Britney nodded.

"It's true, your majesty, I was in danger." Frigga nodded and sighed, gently rubbing Loki's arm.

"We need to work on that, okay? I'm not upset with you, but there are other ways to go about saving people you care about, alright?" Loki nodded.

"Yes, Mother." She kissed his cheek and then turned back to Emily.

"It's a learning process for him my dear, please understand. I do however admire your sense of right and wrong, I think a lot of people in all the Nine Realms are a bit lacking in that area within today's generation." Emily smiled at her, although she was still pissed at the world generally, she liked Frigga.

"I understand, ma'am. It's lovely to meet you by the way." Frigga nodded happily in her direction and pulled her into an unexpected hug. Then she turned and hugged Britney and then headed for the door.

"You guys hide out for a while, I'm going to see what I can do without revealing that you're here yet. I will fix this my son, somehow I will, okay?" When she was gone and the door to Loki's bedroom was once again shut tight, Emily narrowed her eyes at Loki.

"What the hell is wrong with you? First you kill an innocent man in front of a good forty eye-witnesses, but then you kidnap my best friend!" Loki rolled his eyes.

"Kidnapping is a little much don't you think? I mean, she is my girlfriend after all." Emily snorted.

"Yeah but I know my best friend, she would never willingly go with a murder, right Britney?" Emily looked to her friend, hoping to at least see one little sign of remorse but there was none.

"I'm not upset with him, Emily, and yes, I came of my own accord. You have to understand, he only did what he thought was—" Emily's hope for humanity had literally drained from her face.

"No, you know what? I don't want to hear it. I can't bear to hear one more sympathetic word go towards that man, I hate him and I am disappointed enough in you right now that I'm not ever sure I can be friends with you anymore." Britney, in that moment, felt like her entire world had just shattered, but if she'd learned anything from Loki it was to never show your emotions in a moment of weakness.

"Fine. If that's how you really feel…then….then…Gin ú-velin." Emily's jaw dropped, as Britney had just said in Elvish that she didn't love her anymore.

"Thostog sui úan!" Emily shrieked. After hearing the proclamation from Emily that Britney smelled like a monster, Loki decided to intervene.

"Ladies, please, this is ridiculous. Emily, leave her alone, do you understand me? It's not her fault that I do these things and it's also not her fault that you obviously don't know the meaning of unconditional love." Emily, feeling more insulted than ever, slowly turned to look Britney dead in her eyes.

"Britney…are you going to let him speak to me that way?" Britney under normal circumstances she would have stuck have stuck up for her, but right now both of their feelings were hurt and Britney was in no way feeling compliant.

"I'm sorry? Do you expect someone that's not your friend to stand up for you while you're being a freaking…cock juggling thunder cunt?" Loki about laughed out loud.

"I see….because she's dating Thor, that's kind of cleaver my love." He said, fighting to remain serious.

"I always knew you were a traitorous hoe but this…this is low." Emily stormed from the room without even bothering to ask Thor to join her and without knowing where she was going. Thor followed her quickly, after shooting Britney the most spite filled glare she'd ever seen the big guy muster up. It was only then that Britney began to outwardly shatter. Nothing in all the realms, not even Loki's love, could fix what had just happened. Britney had finally done the one thing she'd been scared of all her life, she'd pushed her best friend away and was now left with a hole in her chest that could never be filled.


	10. JARVIS and G-Spots

The despair filled look in Britney's eyes concerned Loki very deeply. The tears fell almost instantaneously after Thor had slammed the door behind him, and Loki was at a loss for how to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her and walked the two of them to his bed, lifting her up on top of it and crawling onto it beside her.

"It's okay, Britney. She was holding you back, you are better off without her." This of course didn't make her feel better at all and she only cried harder. Loki wished he were better at things like this, but he'd kept to himself most of his life and he really only knew how to comfort Thor, who liked to feel like everything that happened to him had the purpose of making his life that more awesome. Britney curled up to his chest and wept for a while, much to Loki's dismay. He disliked it to no end when his love was hurting, and he wanted nothing more than to fix it.

"Is there anything I can do, fair one? I'm sorry that she hurt you. I promise you, she and my brother will both pay for this." Britney sighed deeply and snuggled into him deeper.

"I don't want them to pay, I just want you to hold me." It was then that Loki got an idea.

"Well sweetheart, I can keep holding you like this if you want, or I could just make you forget by holding you like this." He whispered, pulling her up to where her body was resting on top of his and he was kissing and nipping at her neck. She squeaked a little bit, not really expecting this at all. Loki enjoyed the sound and bit her harder, causing her to begin to squirm on top of him, her hands flying straight into his hair.

"I like to have my hair pulled." He purred as she tugged lightly on it.

"Yeah well…I apparently like to be bitten." Loki chuckled.

"Well aren't we a pair." He reversed the roles and flipped them so that he was on top, slipping his hand up her dress and moving it up enough to where it would reveal her ice pink all-over lace panties. He bent down and kissed at her thighs, giving her a nip here and there like he had with her neck.

"Have you forgotten my love?" Britney whimpered out a no and he gently used his thumb to massage her clit through her underwear. Britney yelped, much to his amusement, and he chuckled.

"How about now?" She shook her head no and he smirked.

"Now why do I think you're just saying that?" He teased with a wink, threading his fingers into the sides and preparing to slide her panties off.

"Wait!" She squealed, removing his fingers and attempting to sit up. He cocked his head to the side and she quickly hid her face from him in shame.

"Loki I…this is embarrassing." He gently caressed her hair and in his most soothing voice said "What's there to be embarrassed about? You're beautiful." She shook her head and sighed.

"It's not that it's just…I've never…you know." Her voice was just barely a whisper, but he understood her loud and clear.

"Oh, my dear, I know. Maidens are expected to wait until marriage before becoming…un-maidenly, if you will, here in Asgard. I just assumed that the custom was the same in your realm." Britney laughed and looked most relieved that this wasn't strange to him.

"No, in my realm it's kind of odd for a woman of twenty-four to be a virgin, I mean, it's something you don't want people to know." Loki thought this to be absolutely ridiculous, but he didn't say so in fear of disrespecting her.

"That's why I thought you stopped me actually, you were embarrassed that you'd be having pre-marital sex, which I can assure you is nothing to worry about if I have my way, because the wedding will follow shortly after. That or you thought you weren't pretty enough, which is equally wrong." There that marriage thing was again and Britney turned about three different colors in a matter of a few seconds.

"You really do want to marry me don't you?" Loki smiled but didn't answer, feeling that it was unnecessary at this point. He simply proceeded with removing her panties and then pulled her dress up over her head. He slid down to the bottom of her body and buried his face in her most sensitive parts, his tongue exploring more than it had ever dared explore something before. She tugged harder on his hair, causing him to bite down hard on her clitoris, earning a moan from Britney that went straight to his dick. He licked up and down her quim and then trailed light kisses up her stomach and to her bra. He unhooked it quickly and made haste with the first nipple he came to. He suckled it as if he were a child and reached around to play with the other one. Britney's body was reacting in ways she didn't quite understand, as now it was rocking into his touch unconsciously and she couldn't stop the soft mewling sounds escaping her lips. He pulled away with a grin and moved back down to her nether-regions, slipping two of his fingers in and curling them.

"L-Loki." The moan wasn't loud but it was his name, and the way it had poured from her mouth like an erotic pet-name had Loki fully erect in a matter of seconds. He fingered her for a few moments, making sure he found her G-spot as he rid himself of his own clothing. His armor clattered to the floor and he tore his under clothing off faster than lightening, eager to let his throbbing member loose from his pants. Wanting to reciprocate, once Loki was fully unclothed, Britney took it upon herself to get on her knees and bring is cock to her mouth.

"Britney, love, you don't have too—ohhhh!" He groaned as she took as much as she could of it into her mouth. Loki was large down there, and Britney had a prominent gag reflex, so it wasn't much, but she did what she could. She rubbed her ice cold hands up and down his shaft while her mouth was busy toying with the head. It was his turn for his hands to fly into her hair, pushing her down on it as far as she could go. She ran her teeth gently along his big purple head, which by now was oozing pre-cum, and then happily lapped at the veins along the underside of his penis, causing him to shudder violently.

"Okay, stop, fair one, much more and I'll…well, you know." He laughed, mocking her line from earlier. He lined his penis up to her vagina and gently rubbed her leg.

"This may hurt a bit, so I'm going to go in slowly, okay?" Panicked, Britney said the one thing she was sure would halt everything at once, although that was only what the scared part of her wanted and she knew the rest of her might regret it later.

"But wait we don't have any condoms!" Loki's eyebrows furrowed and he was taken back a bit.

"What's a condom?" He asked curiously, thinking it might be a toy he'd never heard of before.

"It's something that keeps a woman from getting pregnant, don't you use those in Asgard?" Loki looked absolutely appalled at the thought.

"Good lord no, why would you want to do that? Asgardians only have sex with their husbands and wives for a reason, by the time sex comes about we're ready for heirs. Besides, most of the time it takes a lot of effort to get a woman pregnant which is why the only biological descendent of Odin and Frigga is Thor…no matter how hard they tried one child was all they could manage. Is it different in your realm?" Britney nodded.

"It's very easy to get pregnant in Midgard." Loki thought this was funny.

"That is the queerest thing…no wonder you're so over populated. I kind of want to find out if it's the men of Midgard that are over fertile or if it's the women." He said seductively, leaning in for a kiss. They kissed passionately for a while before Loki abruptly pulled back.

"Wait…if you inquired about these condoms, does it mean you don't want to have my children?" Britney was quite stuck. She didn't know if he was curious as to whether or not she wanted any or if he was offended that she didn't seem to want them specifically from him.

"No, it's not that at all. I want children rather badly…I just…I thought you wouldn't want any with all that's going on. I was kind of afraid that if I were to become pregnant I'd be more of a burden to you than I would be an asset while you're trying to take over Midgard." Loki thought about this for a moment and then smirked.

"It matters not to me if you are to become pregnant or not. You can help me up until it becomes too dangerous for you and the baby, I'd say around month eight, and then I'll simply take over from there alone. I mean, if you think about it, that's eight months of help, and we can accomplish a lot in eight months. Then once the child is born I'll have you back to help me and I'll have an heir. That sounds to me like a win-win situation." Britney had not anticipated this reaction at all and it suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks that she was in no way getting out of this, which pleased and terrified her at the same time. Loki kissed her gently this time, sweetly, and nuzzled into her neck.

"It makes me happy to know you do want children. I think it's only fitting that we have numerous heirs, as I'm eager to have blood relatives, and if we have enough we can build a small royal army. Thus, we will never have to worry about being over-thrown and…well, I think it would be rather erotic to watch you grow round with my child. Something we made together would be growing inside you, something completely ours and no one else's. It would be apparent then to all who see you that I took your maidenhood from you and made you mine. That's what I want." He said softly, baring his soul to her in a way he would with no one else.

"That's all I've ever wanted. Someone to call my own, to have something belong to me, like family." Britney's eyes misted over and tenderly stroked his face.

"I can give you that. I want to give you that." Loki captured her lips again, this time far more intensely than ever before. Their tongues clashed in what seemed to be a battle, flesh scorching flesh, as their fingertips caressed and explored each other all over. While she was distracted by the kissing, he as gently as he possibly could, eased himself into her and with a sudden thrust from his hips, he broke through her innocence and made it all the way in. Britney felt the tear clear as day and cried out loudly into his mouth, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. Loki kissed them away but held still as a statue, waiting for the pain to cease.

"Are you alright? How bad does it hurt?" Britney tried to take a calming breath.

"It feels like I've been stabbed by a knife in a very uncomfortable area…but I want you to move." She said bravely, though Loki didn't want to if it really hurt as bad as she'd described it.

"Are you certain?" She nodded.

"Yes, I think eventually the pleasure will override the pain." Loki still didn't seem sure but he moved in and out very slowly for a few moments until he was sure he was all the pain ease from her face and she starting bucking up into him. He pulled her up by her hair and forced his tongue back into her mouth roughly, gripping her hips and throwing all of himself into his thrusts. The more he heard her moan his name into his mouth the faster he went, craving to hear more, needing to know how much she needed him. He finally let her lips go for this purpose and bent her over in an attempt to reach her spot better.

"What's my name?" Loki whispered. Britney grabbed on to the sheets and moaned.

"Ugh…Loki…." Loki growled and spanked her hard.

"Louder, what's my name?" Another smack.

"Loki!" Loki through his head back in a loud moan.

"Fuck…yes, who do you love?" He demanded, digging his nails into her ass.

"You! Oh God I love you so much!" She practically screamed as he rammed into her special spot for about the twentieth time. That was enough for him, he spilled his seed all inside of her as her orgasm exploded within her groin. Their bodies slammed into each other a few more times, milking it for all it was worth before Loki finally pulled out and curled up beside her.

"That was amazing." Britney whispered breathlessly. Loki chuckled.

"Never thought sex could feel that way…I mean people described it as magic but still…" Britney giggled.

"I know! That's what I'm saying!" They both snickered for a little bit and buried themselves into an embrace.

Meanwhile, Tony was in the process of finishing up another section of the machine when he got a phone call.

"Dr. Banner? I haven't heard from you since the incident in New York, what's up man?" Tony listened for a bit and then grinned.

"That's great actually, why don't you and your girlfriend come over for a little bit, I'll tell Michaela to get everything set up and then we'll get started." He hung up and fist bumped the air happily.

"J.A.R.V.I.S! Fetch my wife and a bottle of Brandy, we have celebrating to do!" There was silence for a moment before a computerized chuckle was heard.

"Mr. Stark sir, I'm a computer." Tony laughed back and rolled his eyes.

"Then use my suit to do it, duh." J.A.R.V.I.S playfully called him lazy and sent an Iron Man suit to the liquor cabinet. Man, Tony loved his technology.


	11. New Beginnings

Three weeks passed and neither Britney nor Loki had heard a peep from Emily and Thor. They had been secretly living in the palace, cooped up in Loki's room while Frigga was having an awfully hard time with Odin. Heimdall had reported to Odin that Loki was no longer in Midgard and Frigga's inquiries about moving Loki from his cell to his room upon his return had aroused suspicion in him. Although it wasn't that big a deal, because the big idiot never thought to search Loki's room for Loki and it made Frigga awfully happy that she'd married a moron.

Loki had been growing restless in his room and up until the week in question he'd often suggested to Britney that they venture out and explore Asgard, though she deemed it dangerous. This week however Loki was particularly worried about Britney and wanted her to go nowhere. She could hardly keep her eyes open half the time and she'd been throwing up an awful lot the last week. Finally one morning they were laying in bed with one another and Britney rolled over on her stomach and cried out a bit.

"What is it my love? Do you think you're going to be sick again? How many times do I have to ask you to seek the royal doctor?" Loki looked so worried and distressed that Britney couldn't help but laugh.

"No actually, it just really hurts to roll over my boobs feel like they've been packed pull of ice." Loki's eyebrows knitted together and he made her sit up, lifting Britney's shirt over her head.

"Loki I'm not in the mood for sex, I feel like shit." Loki shook his head.

"No, look at your breasts darling." Britney didn't really see a difference, but Loki did.

"They're a little swollen, and you've been awfully ill, I mean, do you think—" Britney immediately seemed to pale.

"You think I'm pregnant." Loki nodded.

"It's mid February, Loki, I probably just have a cold." Loki shot her a knowing glance.

"Maybe if we were still in New York, but it's a good seventy degrees and hotter in Asgard all year round, you can't blame this on the supposed cold." Britney sighed.

"Well, we would have conceived around February first if I remember correctly, is that far enough back to have symptoms already?" Loki tried and failed to hide the smile breaking out on his face.

"It's been three weeks to the day, I'd say that's long enough." Loki's smile was infectious, and Britney would be lying if she said the possibility didn't make her slightly giddy.

"Well now I'm curious, damn you, take me to the royal physician." She said with a laugh, Loki's eyes twinkling with happiness as he helped her to her feet. She pulled her shirt back on and Loki concentrated on his mother as if he were going to teleport.

"Mother is coming this way, I'll step out and get her, she can take us there." It wasn't long before Frigga made her way to Loki's room with a tray of breakfast she'd secretly made them.

"How does she fare, Loki? Is she feeling better?" She asked upon opening the door. Loki opened his mouth to answer when the smell of the food she'd brought wafted into Britney's nostrils. She dry heaved all the way to the bathroom, nearly not making it and Loki, whereas he'd usually be very concerned, chuckled.

"Well believe it or not I'm no longer worried, as I'm almost certain now more than ever that she's not the least bit sick." Frigga's forehead creased with worry.

"But honey, she's been throwing up frequently for several days." Loki winked at his mother and his face gave it all away. Understanding washed over her features and she sat the food tray on the bed, grabbing the blanket Britney had been wrapped in and whacking him with it.

"Loki Odinson!" She screeched, refusing to call him the son of Laufey.

"How dare you take the innocence of a woman that you don't intend to marry!" Loki laughed harder with every swat of the blanket she swung at him.

"But I do intend to marry her! I intended to do so before we even did anything, I swear it!" Frigga took a deep breath.

"Oh but my darling, why didn't you wait? I'm very pleased to be having a grandchild, but my son, I just…I feel like a young woman wants to marry in a dress that makes her feel beautiful, not one that has to fit her just right because she's with child." Britney brushed her teeth and flushed the toilet, walking out and smiling at Frigga.

"I don't mind getting married round with Loki's child. I've never been given anything that's made me this happy." Loki's face shone with love and pride, and despite her earlier comments, so did Frigga's. She wiped a tear from her eye and walked quickly to Britney, pulling her into a hug.

"Thank you for taking the time to get to know him. He deserves to be loved by someone that knows who he really is and sees it no matter what he may do. It's that kind of unconditional love that lasts forever." This seemed to embarrass Loki slightly, as he turned his face away from them, but a goofy smile was still plastered there.

"U-Um, Mother…we still need confirmation. Let's try not to get our hope up until we see a doctor, yes?" Loki interjected, an obvious attempt at a subject change. Frigga's eyes twinkled.

"Oh do you need to be taken to the Physician? Why my dear child, why didn't you say so? Come along, I can get the doctor to keep his mouth shut. Loki, try to stay hidden okay?" Loki rolled his eyes.

"I'm very good at evasive maneuvers, don't you worry about me, Mother." Frigga chortled.

"I know, my son, how else did you even get in here?"

Meanwhile, Tony was having a lot of fun with Michaela and that bottle of Brandy. She was sitting on his lap and J. A. R. V. I. S had decided to power himself down for a while, not really wanting to see what he was sure was coming. It was never good when Master Stark drank.

"So what's the occasion, baby? You never said." She asked, twirling the bottle in her hand. Tony shot her a shit-eating grin and sighed in a successful sounding manner.

"Well, Dr. Banner is coming over and I'd previously spoken to him about the machine I'm building yes? Well he told me he has a pretty significant piece built himself as an exchange for something he wants me to build for him. If he gives it to me, I only have a small bit left to do and then I can get that Asgardian Grease Monkey off my back." Michaela snorted.

"I love the way you talk about him, you're so mean." She teased.

"He deserves it. That's my only regret about building this machine…you're going to remember all the pain he put you through." Michaela leaned in for a chaste kiss.

"It'll be worth it. I'll get to remember how noble and heroic you were when you saved my life." Tony smirked and raised his glass to that.

"Cheers, babe."

Now on the subject of Emily and Thor, they had traveled back to Midgard without so much as a goodbye to Frigga. Thor was a little upset that he didn't see more of his mother, but he knew Emily wasn't fond of his home right now or who was currently residing in it, so he left well enough alone. Emily had been having a better three weeks than Britney in the sense that she wasn't throwing up every hour on the hour, but she, unlike Britney, hadn't been given any good news to lighten her mood. Emily had been awfully depressed and the whole situation left Thor with a bad taste in his mouth. He was angry that this had gotten as out of hand as it had and he wished with his entire being that Loki was different. Angry as he was though, the constant bad mood Emily was in was driving him mad. Every day she either complained about Britney, Loki, or the fact that she'd gained fifteen pounds since the last time she'd seen them, or even a combination of all three. Thor was a pretty lax guy, but it had finally reached the point where he just couldn't take it anymore.

"Emily love, would you come into the living room for a moment?" Emily walked in with a pout, as he had interrupted her while she was cooking dinner.

"What's wrong, Thor?" He sighed and played with a loose strand of his hair nervously.

"Maiden, I've told you this before, I'm concerned for your well-being." Emily rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and I've told you that I didn't want to hear any more about it. I'm over it, what's done is done, Britney made her choice. Her relationship with your brother is obviously more important than I am." Thor gazed over at her, his eyes searching her face wearily.

"What would you have done had the rolls been reversed? If I had killed in your defense and Britney had gotten angry, what would you have honestly done? She loves him Emily, and you may not understand it but this is a very good thing for him. He's been down the wrong path for a while now and damn it if Britney is able to bring my real brother back to me then I don't care what happens in the process!" Thor had gotten carried away with that last part, not meaning to raise his voice at her at all. Tears began to run immediately down her face and Thor was not prepared for it at all. He'd known her for about four months or so now and he had never seen her cry before, not once. His bright blue eyes widened in panic and his face contorted into utter shame.

"I'm sorry, maiden, honestly I didn't mean—" Emily cut him off by flinging herself into his arms.

"I'm s-so sorry Thor! I don't mean to be such a bitch, I really don't, but I've l-lost my best friend and she doesn't even c-care!" She wailed, clutching his shirt and burying her face into his chest. Thor quickly wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Shhh, angel, it's alright. I know what she means to you, which is why I even brought this up. You're not going to be yourself again until the two of you make this right. We have to go back to Asgard." Emily pulled away abruptly.

"No! I don't want to be around her and her self-serving psychopath of a boyfriend, if she wants to apologize she can come here to do it, I'm not going back to Asgard!" Thor was a little startled at her shouts, but she'd been particularly unstable the last three weeks and he decided that he should just try to get used to all these mood-swings until he could figure out a way to set things straight.

Back in Asgard, Frigga had successfully gotten Loki and Britney in to see the Physician and she was rubbing goo on Britney's tummy to perform an ultrasound. Loki was holding his breath, praying that she really was pregnant and she wasn't severely ill, which in his mind could've easily been right as the doctor hadn't spoken in a long while. He petted her hair absent mindedly and watched the screen of the device intently. Only the doctors of Asgard had such machines, as you know by now that Asgardians don't use much technology in their day to day lives, and Loki was quite uncertain what he was looking for, but he stared nonetheless. Finally the doctor smiled and restored some hope into Loki.

"Yes, Your Highness, Loki's beloved is indeed with child." She stated cheerily, glad herself that there was nothing wrong with someone that was obviously close to the Queen. The moment the goo was wiped away Britney sprang into Loki's arms, and he showered her with kisses. The doctor laughed.

"My goodness, in all my years at the palace I've never seen Master Loki so happy." Frigga nodded.

"I know, isn't it wonderful? If only I could convince Odin to let Loki stay, then he'd see how different things are now." Of course, Frigga didn't know about Loki's plans regarding Midgard, but it was true, still, that he had indeed changed. Loki pecked Frigga on the cheek and shot her an elated and radiant smile.

"Mother, I am going to celebrate with my darling in the den nearest to my room, please see to it that no one finds out and we aren't interrupted. I should like to at least show her a little more of her new home than just our room and the doctors quarters." Both Frigga and Britney were both surprised and filled with bliss to here that this would be Britney's new home, and Frigga wasted no time in agreeing to it. The more she stayed in Asgard the more it seemed to Britney like Loki was forgetting his plans for Midgard. Everything about Asgard seemed so solid, like they'd soon be raising their child there. Unbeknown to her this wasn't the case at all. Loki often thought of their plans to conquer Midgard, but he had figured that Britney was going to stay here during the final leg of the plan due to giving birth, and he wanted her to feel like the palace was close enough to a home to do that in. Besides, they were going to have to stay there for a long while anyway, since the murder of Miles Declan was all but forgotten.

The den closest to Loki's bedroom was a marvelously large room with a fireplace and so many book shelves it reminded Britney of a library. Loki led Britney to a large scarlet comfy chair near the fire and had her sit down, leaning in for a quick kiss. He looked at her with more love in his eyes than she had ever seen there since the day they met. His usually cold and perfectly calculated demeanor had melted into a warmth Britney was sure he'd only had with her. He ran a cold slender hand through her hair and pressed their foreheads together.

"Rule Asgard with me." He whispered. Britney giggled and nuzzled against him.

"First Midgard, then the world?" She teased, earning her favorite chime of a laugh, followed by a shrug.

"Mayhap." Nothing more was said until he suddenly dropped to one knee and pulled a small black box from his pocket.

"I've been um…well, we've been talking about this since the night we conceived our little one there," He began, gesturing briefly to Britney's midsection.

"and I bought this for you last week, not sure when the time would be right to do this…I mean, I was going to wait a few months so we'd be comfortably dating by the time I asked but with a child on the way I figured my mother was right. You want to feel like a princess when you get married, you don't want to feel uncomfortable with your body. Plus, I'd be lying if I said that waiting until we were comfortably dating was the plan because I wasn't ready, I was ready the moment I decided I was in love with you, I just figured it would look better to your family if we'd been together a while. I want to make a good impression when I meet them." He admitted, smiling coyly at her.

"Britney Alaine Erhardt, fairest maiden in all the nine realms…even if I kind of took your maidenly title, would you do me the immense honor of being my wife?" He opened the box to reveal a glittering silver engagement ring with a large emerald diamond in the center. Her brown eyes misted over and her mouth hung slightly ajar, momentarily unable to process what was happening. He was really serious this time, it wasn't just playful banter. His eyes, emerald as the stone of her ring, sparkled with mischief as he gently pressed his lips to hers, their mouths molding together perfectly as if they were missing pieces to each other's puzzle. A few tears trickled down Britney's cheeks as she nodded, Loki using this thumb to brush them away.

"It would make me very happy to be your wife, Loki." He grinned widely and pressed a kiss to her nose, sliding the ring on the third finger of her left hand and reaching up to kiss away the stray tears his thumb had missed.

"Don't cry, fair one. It's unbecoming of a queen." He teased. Britney giggled and pulled him into another kiss by his hair, causing a small growl to escape from his chest. He kissed her hard as he made his way from the pouty duvet of her lips to her slender neck, biting and suckling the way he knew she liked it. He marked her every spot he could, taking pleasure in showing off that she was his. The rough savage kisses continued for a few moments, as Loki highly enjoyed the noises they evoked from his fiancée, until he reached her stomach. It was there that his lips against her flesh were light as a feather, as if she were being tickled by a ghost.

"My queen and my heir." He mumbled, lost in a sea of happiness that he'd never felt before in all his years.

In Midgard, Thor had decided he'd had enough estrogen for one morning and had gone off in seek of alone time to figure out a way to fix Emily and Britney's relationship. Emily, who in her distraught state took this to mean that Thor was angry with her, decided just to pack her school bags and head to class, although the last three weeks Thor had kept her home in fear of her freaking out on her classmates or something. She had mythology 121 first period, and she thought nothing of it until she got to her desk and looked to her left. Britney's desk was obviously empty, and it put a pit in her friends stomach. Mr. Eckard, their creepy and extraordinarily boring teacher, had just walked through the door.

"Okay class, I would like for you to open your books to page 313, mmkay?" Emily blanched, it grated on her nerves that every other word out of her teachers mouth was always that dreadful "mmkay". He stopped at Emily's desk and looked around, a mock sense of concern filling his beady face.

"Why, Miss Brooks, where is your little blonde friend?" Emily had always suspected that Mr. Eckard was intimidated by Britney, because when it came to school Emily was a lot shyer than normal and Britney had kind of taken up roll as her protector ever since the beginning of their friendship in the eighth grade.

"S-She's um….love sick." Emily could have just smacked herself, she didn't know why she'd said that, even if it were true. Britney would have come up with a better lie.

"Love sick, mmkay? Is that why you've been out so long as well? You know, boyfriends are a bad reason to miss school…as a matter of fact, boyfriends are bad to have in general, mmkay? A woman needs a manfriend. One more absence and you'd have been dropped from the class, good thing you're here. Miss Erhardt I'm afraid, can no longer come back." He leaned across the desk and grabbed Emily's leg, causing her to yelp. Fortunately for her, the principal walked in and Mr. Eckard backed off. Little did she know that this wouldn't be her last unfortunate encounter with her mythology teacher.

Britney was unaware that she was being dropped from any classes, but it hardly mattered, as "Miss Erhardt" would no longer exist in a few short weeks when she was to become Mrs. Laufeyson. That was all that was on Loki's mind, asking Britney what all she wanted and getting his mother to speak with her about being fitted by the Royal Tailor for a dress. Britney was happy to do all this, as she was very excited to be marrying the absolute love of her life, but something else was weighing on her mind. Britney had called Emily to not only invite her to the wedding but to tell her the good news, figuring that it might be enough to call off this stupid war between the two of them. However, Britney was saddened when she realized there was no way to get cell reception in Asgard, and she had to beg Loki to take her back home for a moment so that she could at least call her. Loki was perturbed by this, as he was not ready to go back to Midgard, he wanted to be wed first, and he didn't want to see Emily in the slightest.

"Baby please, can't I just marry you in my home realm, without having to look at the face of the woman that made you sob in my arms three weeks ago? Those weren't just a few tears, darling, she really hurt you, I could tell." She sighed, running her fingers through his hair as he bent down to kiss her stomach again, which he'd been doing periodically since he found out.

"I bet Little One doesn't want to see anyone who hurt mommies feelings either." Britney giggled.

"You're so cute when you want to be, you know that?" Loki chuckled.

"So I'm not cute all the time?" Britney kissed him hard when he stood back up.

"Well you're always gorgeous, but absolutely adorable when you talk about the baby." Britney stifled a laugh, literally watching his ego inflate at her words, it was written all over his face.

"I always knew I was dashing." She burrowed herself deeper inside his arms and sighed heavily.

"Loki, we really do need to go to Midgard. Don't you want to know how Tony's progress is going? We could stop by Stark Tower…" Loki sighed too and lay his chin atop her head.

"You're home sick, aren't you?" He asked gently, rubbing her back in a soothing motion.

"No actually, I love Asgard. It's just that I really miss Emily…she's been my best friend for eleven years, Loki. We used to do everything together, and I know you don't like her much, but she means a lot to me. We don't need to stay long, I just want to go there long enough to make things right. And I would like it if she'd be there to see the most treasured event of my life." Loki pulled back to look at her and her eyes were misted over, immediately making up his mind.

"Oh, love, if you insist. I do suppose I want to see what all Stark's up to, and I want you to be happy." He kissed her forehead before adding "and I want to meet your family." Britney beamed and crushed their lips together.

"Thank you!" Loki chuckled.

"Well if you're going to kiss me like that every time I try to make you happy I should indeed have a very passionate life with you my dear, as I'll never quit trying to make you happy." He then picked her up as if she were already his bride and carried her to the last place he'd seen Frigga, to ask her to make sure they'd be able to return by bifrost.

It wasn't long before Britney and Loki were once again in New York City, about five miles from their apartment. Noticing the frown on Britney's face, he placed his hand on the small of her back and shot her a concerned look.

"Feeling alright sweetheart? Do you need me to carry you, I hope traveling on the bifrost didn't make you nauseas." She shook her head.

"It's not that…I'm just really underwhelmed with Midgard now that I've seen Asgard. This realm is so dull looking." Loki smirked.

"Oh I could have told you that, I knew you'd never want to come back. Asgard is a truly magnificent place. You may not like this, but I plan for you to spend the last bit of your pregnancy there, in safety, while I'm here finishing up our coup." Britney looked up at him quickly in a sudden panic.

"You'll be there for the birth won't you?" Loki sensed the alarm that tore through her and he recanted.

"Of course my love, I wouldn't miss it for the world. I promise, I'll not engage the final battle until the child has been born. Your due date is October twenty-eighth, I'm keeping that in mind." Britney squeezed his hand.

"Good, I don't think I could do it without you." He kissed her cheek.

"Your strong, I know you could, but I wouldn't want you too. I want to be the best, most supportive husband I can be, and of course the first to hold our precious little creation." He said sweetly, walking hand-in-hand with her in no particular direction.

"I'm going to call Emily now, and then we can try to make our way safely to Tony's without getting noticed by anyone who might have seen us on the news, okay?" Loki nodded and Britney pulled out her cell phone. It rang and rang and for a moment Britney thought Emily was going to completely ignore her call, but the receiver finally sounded a very disheveled voice at the last second.

"What do you want Britney?" She sounded highly irritated, but something was telling Britney that not all of it was her fault, and it instantly put her on guard.

"Are you alright?" There was a huff on the other line.

"I'm fine, is that all you wanted?" Loki's features darkened as he watched Britney's hopeful expression fade into a very insecure one. He was afraid that Emily was being mean to her, and his instincts as a father were on alert to remove the child from stressful situations that may affect its development.

"N-No, I just thought you might want to know that Loki and I are getting married, and I'm—" Britney's voice cut off abruptly, as Loki was sure she was being interrupted, and she seemed to him like her self-esteem was growing smaller and smaller with every word spoken on the other end.

"I don't care that you and that sack of shit are getting married, I really don't, and I do not appreciate the phone call, I am busy with classes something you've forgotten about so much that you've been dropped from all yours. Have a nice time explaining that to your family, oh wait, sorry that's right, you'll just have Loki kill them for you." Britney didn't know the true reason behind Emily's hostility, and for the most part neither did Emily, not yet, but it didn't matter. Britney had always been rather sensitive, which I'm sure you can tell by now, and the tears fell immediately. Loki didn't know what had been said, but he'd seen enough and he ripped the phone from Britney's hand.

"Now you listen to me you worthless Midgardian piece of trash, I will—" There was a click and the line went dead, causing Loki to chuck Britney's phone at a nearby tree.

"Dare she hang up on a God! I will hunt her down, I swear it to you, what did she say?" He demanded angrily, the devastated look on Britney's face tearing him apart on the inside. Britney regurgitated what Emily had said to her and Loki became even more furious, but he held it inside him and pulled Britney into a comforting embrace, his need to sooth her overpowering everything else he was feeling. He let her cry on his shoulder for a while until she pulled back quickly and ran behind a tree. Loki knew exactly what was going on, and even though she was pregnant, Loki blamed Emily for this bout of vomit. Loki followed behind her and held her hair back, wrapping his arm around her so his free hand could gently massage her stomach.

"It's okay, Little One, I know you're upset that that mean old witch hurt mommy, but please ease up on the vomit. Your mother can only take so much of it." He cooed, flinching with worry every time he felt her stomach lurch.

Now, little did Britney and Loki know that Emily had more reason to hang up on Loki than simply disliking him. As a matter of fact, Emily would have loved to respond to that bit about her being trash, but she had become a little preoccupied. Her class had come to an end and Mr. Eckard had asked to speak with her after class, something Emily in no way wanted to do but she was afraid it was about her grade and reluctantly accepted.

"You wanted to speak with me, Mr. Eckard?" His squinty eyes looked particularly dark today as the bags under his eyes seemed more purple, as if he hadn't slept in days. As a matter of fact, he hadn't slept in a long while, as he'd been staying up at night building a little something in his closet, which we'll find out a bit later.

"Yes. I have grown concerned for Miss Erhardt. You said she was love sick, mmkay? Well I just remembered seeing her on the news, has she been found, mmkay?" Emily laughed nervously.

"The guy that supposedly kidnapped her was her boyfriend so…yeah, she's fine." Mr. Eckard smiled, his crooked teeth repelling Emily even further.

"I told you boyfriends were trouble. Wouldn't you like a manfriend? Mmkay?" Emily couldn't stop the shudder that ran down her spine.

"My boyfriend is plenty a man, thank you." This seemed to make Mr. Eckard rather cross, but luckily Emily's phone rang right as he'd grabbed for her wrist.

"Sorry, gotta take this, let me step out for a moment." She said quickly, possibly the only reason she answered a call from Britney. Now, the call was just as described before, but all the while she was trying to find the quickest way out of the school. By the time she heard Loki's voice she was running down a flight of steps and was running shorter and shorter of breath, a sense of terror coursing through her that she couldn't quite explain…was Mr. Eckard really all that creepy? Was she over-reacting? Common sense said yes, but her instincts told her to only run faster. Unable to waste breath on words, she hung up on Loki and shoved her phone in her pocket. However Emily was just a little less klutzy than Britney, which wasn't saying much, and she tripped over her own feet. She rolled down the stairs and landed on the floor, taking a nice crack to the back of the head. The last thing she thought before she was lost in a sea of unconsciousness was that she was in no way safe.

Britney and Loki had now finally made it to Tony's after Britney's stomach had been completely emptied and Loki apologized for totally busting up her phone, promising her a new one. Tony looked absolutely elated when he opened the door, but that instantly fell when he saw who'd been knocking.

"Expecting someone else?" Loki asked with a smirk, remaining snarky even when he was really very upset.

"Yes actually, now get off my property." Loki opened his mouth to say something, but Britney beat him to it.

"Please don't make us go, I would really like to talk to your wife about some things going on in my life. Having another woman to confide in would be very nice, and Loki just wanted to inquire about the machine, we won't stay long or cause any trouble, I promise." Britney's lip quivered and Tony softened up a bit. He scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"I guess you can come in then, but I'm holding you to your promise to not stay long, I'm expecting important company." They stepped into the foyer and Loki kissed Britney gently, telling her to come and find Tony and he when she was done speaking with Michaela. It was then that she wandered off up the stairs to where Tony had said she would be; their bedroom. It was the last room at the end of the hall and Michaela seemed more than shocked when the door opened on her.

"Tony this is…I didn't…um…" She stammered, obviously very relieved when she realized it wasn't her husband who had entered.

"Oh…look, it's the sociopathic Jotunn-lover." Michaela chided, not exactly happy to see the other girl.

"Listen, please don't make any racial slurs against my fiancée, I just came here to seek some advice, and I'm sorry that we got off on the wrong foot." Her eyes then fell to what Michaela had been trying to hide when she walked in. Inside her trembling hands was clearly a positive pregnancy test.

"You're pregnant…congratulations, that's actually what I came seeking advice about." Michaela quickly put a finger to her lips.

"Shhh!" Britney cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"You don't want Tony to know?" Michaela sat the test on the desk nearest to her and put her head in her hands.

"Oh just shut up and close the door. Come sit with me on my bed if you want to talk." Britney did what was asked of her and Michaela sat down beside her.

"Tony mustn't know. Not yet." She said sadly, gently touching her stomach.

"But why? Loki was very pleased to find out I was carrying his child, I'm sure Tony will feel the same." Michaela shook her head.

"That's just it, I don't think he will. He's told me before when speaking of the subject that it would be better for both of us if it never happened. He thinks he would become his father, and he says he doesn't want to put a child through all he went through." Britney didn't know that Tony had daddy issues, and since she knew what it was like to be with a man with such issues (cough cough, Loki) she became even more perplexed. Loki seemed to take the view that having a child would fix his family issues, where Tony believed it would make his worse.

"Maybe he needs to have a word with Loki about it." She suggested, much to Michaela's amusement.

"What's the damn Jotunn going to do about it? They aren't the most loving creatures." Britney had to repress the urge to glare at her.

"Loki realizes that a baby is a good way to fill his missing sense of family, maybe he should point it out to Tony was all I was suggesting, to make the transition to parents easier on the both of you. Why do you hate the people of Jotunheim so? I mean, Loki does, but he was taught to hate them and therefore has a lot of unresolved conflict with himself, but what on Earth have the people of that realm done to you?" Michaela's expression darkened.

"A lot more than you think. Maybe one day…if you and I get closer, I'll tell you about it." Britney nodded and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be there to listen, then." Michaela smiled and laughed for the first time that Britney had ever seen.

"You're not so bad after all. Enough about me for the time being, you came here for my help yes?" Britney nodded.

"I don't have a mother and I haven't visited my aunts that live in North Carolina in some time, but when I found out I was pregnant I wanted someone I could share the experience with, you know? Someone besides my fiancée that would be happy and give me advice…someone to shop with and such. But my best friend kind of hates me right now and wouldn't listen to me when I tried to tell her, and I felt weird asking Loki's mother to do those things because she's so busy…" She looked down glumly at her hands and it broke Michaela's heart a little bit.

"I don't have a mother either, or at least not someone I consider to be one. It's part of that story I told you I'd tell you about if we got closer. My mother she's…a frost giant, if you will. I'm half." Britney's mouth dropped.

"Does Tony know?" She shook her head.

"No, it's just another reason I don't want him to know I'm pregnant. What if it looks like one and he doesn't want anything to do with it?" Britney shrugged.

"There's only one way to find out, but I promise you if he reacts badly I'll junk punch some sense into him for you." Michaela snorted.

"Yeah, we'll see about that. Well…you wanted someone to share your pregnancy with and now you've got one. How about we get to know each other while preparing for our babies, and then I'll be able to tell you the rest of my story." Britney beamed.

"Sounds like a plan."

Britney and Loki promised not to stay long and they didn't, this had all taken about half an hour and once Britney and Michaela came out and entered the foyer Loki announced that he was ready to leave. Michaela hugged Britney and Loki smiled as he took her arm, noticing that she looked ten times happier than when they'd arrived. For that, he turned to Mrs. Stark and thanked her, much to her surprise, and then they headed for the door. When Loki pulled on the brass knob and the door swung open, none of them expected none other than Dr. Bruce Banner to be standing on the front porch.


	12. Banner and Bruises

Thor came home that morning to an empty apartment. He was instantly alarmed, as Emily didn't usually leave without telling him. He sat down glumly on the couch and Charlie climbed into his lap, kneading his legs and curling up. He sighed heavily, scratching the cat behind the ears.

"Oh, Charlotte…I think I upset Lady Emily. She probably went to school, yes? I have half a mind to go get my brother while she's gone, this has got to stop." Charlie meowed, as if in protest, and Thor let out a huff.

"Well I have too, this entire situation is ridiculous. I know she's not going to like it, but I try so hard to keep her happy and nothing is working. She needs her friend back, and the only way that can happen is if she accepts that my brother is a permanent part of Britney's life now, just as I'm hopefully a permanent part of hers." Charlie hopped off and Thor headed towards the door, stopping just short of the knob when he heard the house phone ring. He had never worked it before, nor was he one hundred percent sure how to properly operate it, but he'd observed Emily using it enough times to try, and he didn't want to miss Loki or Britney if that's who was calling. He picked up the phone cautiously, putting it to his ear and praying he had this right.

"Hello? Who is calling Emily Brooks? This is not she, this is Thor…son of Odin." A creepy, raspy voice came in reply.

"I don't care who your father is. I have your girlfriend, and you'd be wise to not look for her. If you do, and I find out about it, she's dead." The line went dead, but Thor did not know or understand this concept, nor what the beeping he heard meant.

"Dare you speak ill of my father, who is this? Where is my Emily? Give her back to me you—dear creator of Yggdrasill stop that persistent beeping! Gah!" Unable to quite take the rudeness of the beeps coming from the phone, Thor got agitated and ripped it straight out of the wall.

"I must take leave to Asgard, Charlotte, I care not how much anyone dislikes my brother, he's the only person who can and would help me get my angel back." The cat simply meowed at him and he frantically ran out the door to call on Heimdall. Of course, unbeknown to Thor, Loki and Britney hadn't been in Asgard since very early.

Back at Tony's house, Dr. Banner and a tall brunette woman were pushing past Loki and Britney, no doubt unhappy to see the Frost Giant.

"Dr. Banner! Great to see you again, man." Tony said with a smirk, reaching out and shaking his hand.

"Likewise, Tony." He then turned his attention to Loki, and in an attempt to break the ice—no matter how badly it failed—nodded his head and said "Puny God." Loki, trying to be on his better behavior, said nothing, but pulled Britney tightly to him from behind and rested his chin atop her head.

"I hate him…" He whispered, and though she couldn't see his face, Britney knew he was pouting.

"It's okay, darling, he's just mad that he has to over-compensate for the twelve-inch dick you have that he doesn't." Unable to control himself, Loki burst into loud laughter, starling the others in the room.

"Well aren't you feeling naughty today?" He chuckled, nipping at her ear. Tony, looking awfully disturbed, pointed towards the door.

"Get out." Loki was unperturbed by this, Britney's comments having boosted his ego, and he willingly grabbed her hand and headed back for the door. Once again, however, they didn't quite make it out. Tony had begun a conversation with Banner regarding the machine and the slender blue-eyed woman with the brunette pixie cut mentioned earlier inquired about Loki's intensions.

"Eh don't worry about him, he's weak both in body and mind, nothing he's planning will prevail. He's good to keep around though, he's a nice little punching bag." Banner commented, not at all attempting to be quiet. Loki was going to continue his nice streak for the day and ignore it, but soon he felt Britney's hand slip from his and his heart froze in terror. He'd forgotten to mention to her what happens when Dr. Banner was angered, and he turned to find her trudging toward him furiously.

"Britney, no, don't!" His pleas were unheard and were called out too late, as a loud resonating slap seemed to bounce off the walls. The room fell completely and utterly silent, nothing to be heard but Loki dashing across the room and immediately putting himself between Britney and Bruce.

If anything is to happen it will happen to me. I will die protecting her if I must, no harm is to come to my love and our child. Loki thought to himself, though he wore these thoughts plain as day on his face, his eyes daring Banner to take one step towards Britney. Of course, being pregnant and insanely irate, Britney was the first to speak.

"I am so done with everyone talking about Loki as if they know him and expecting no consequences for it! He is a wonderful person, and no one has ever taken the time to notice or appreciate anything he has ever done! There is so much more to him than anyone will ever know because they're too shallow and have their heads shoved too far up their asses! So fuck you!" Britney took a long breath, attempting to calm herself, as she was now shaking. Even Loki was utterly shocked, having never heard his fiancée be this loud or assertive during all the months they'd spent together. Everyone, except for Britney because she still was clueless, was waiting with baited breath to see what would become of Dr. Banner. Much to everyone's surprise and Loki's immense relief, he laughed.

"Well now, I'd have never expected all that shouting to come from such a small woman. What on Earth made you so angry?" The amusement never left his eyes and Loki let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"She's pregnant…it's mine." Dr. Banner nodded.

"I figured she must have loved you an awful lot to risk the green guy visiting over one little comment." It was then that reality sunk in for Britney.

"Y-You're…" Dr. Banner nodded once more.

"The one and only, yep. That's another reason I decided not to get angry, I assumed that with all this memory wiping that Tony's spoken to me about you might not remember much of me at all, that and, my wife Meredith has been helping me a lot with calming techniques. It takes a lot more than a slap and a few swear words to release the big guy these days. One of the perks of marrying a psychologist." He said with a wink to his wife, the girl that'd accompanied him, and she kissed his cheek in response. This seemed to make Tony a little sad, as he'd had great fun last time trying to provoke Bruce into Hulking out, which would now apparently prove to be more difficult. Britney opened her mouth to apologies when there was suddenly a knock on the door. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Good God, who could that be? There's already too many people in my house for comfort." He grumbled, opening the door to reveal Thor, who had finally asked Heimdall for Loki's location after Frigga informed him that he'd left.

"May I speak with my brother alone?" This troubled Loki, and he didn't want to leave Britney around Banner, who had once smashed him into the floor multiple times over, but what choice did he have? He kissed Britney very protectively and very deliberately in front of Banner, though having no particular reason to feel jealous he still felt….inferior.

"I'll be back in a moment, fair one." He promised, gently rubbing her stomach, as if to promise "Little One" also, and walking toward his brother. He stepped out on the porch and Tony shut the door behind them to give them some privacy.

"What is it, brother? I really don't like leaving her in there…" Thor would have normally reassured him but at the moment he could honestly say that he didn't care about anyone but Emily right now.

"None of that matters Loki, not now, you've got to help me." Loki snorted.

"What do you mean none of it matters, that's my fiancée and child in there, they're the world to me." Thor would later realize what he over-looked in that sentence and become overjoyed, but that would all have to wait.

"Not to me, I don't care a thing about anything in that house, I just want my maiden back and you are the only person who can help me! Loki, please!" He begged, Loki's expression fading from slight-offense to confusion.

"Hang on, wait…what happened to Emily?" Thor looked ashamedly to the ground and for a moment Loki thought he might cry.

"I wasn't there to protect her, brother…I failed her. I went off for some alone time to figure out a way to mend her relationship with Lady Britney, because she'd been depressed…and when I arrived home I received a call on the telephonic device in the living room that she'd been captured. If I look for her she dies, he said."

Oh shit, this is serious. Loki thought, running his nimble fingers through his jet black locks in worry.

"Don't worry, Thor, give me a moment, I'll see what I can do." It slightly shocked Thor that Loki wasn't more cryptic or resistant about it after everything that had happened. It was then that it sort of hit Thor, while marveling at how Loki had pushed his own feelings towards Emily aside to help him, that he'd overlooked what Loki had been trying to tell him the entire time.

"Britney she's…carrying your child?" Now it was Loki who didn't want to talk about it, as he was working really hard on concentrating on Emily's life force to pinpoint her location.

"Yes now shut up, god, do you want me to find her or not?" Thor nodded adamantly, though his chest had filled with joy in knowing he'd be having a little niece or nephew in nine or so months.

It's already changed you, Loki, and you don't even know it. He thought to himself as he watched panic contort Loki's usually laid back demeanor.

"T-Thor I…I'm so sorry." When Loki opened his eyes from his intense concentration Thor blanched at what he saw in them. His bright emerald orbs were filled with what could only be described as pure unadulterated fear.

"Is she hurt?!" Loki shook his head.

"Yes, I was able to sample her emotions…but unfortunately I couldn't grasp her exact location. All I can tell you is that she's somewhere in Queens, near 178th street, she's scared and injured…and…Thor?" Thor almost didn't want to ask, fearing his voice would crack and give him away.

"Yes, brother?" His eyes locked with Loki's and for a few painful seconds neither one of them dared breathe.

"I didn't just feel her life's essence…there were two more with her, two more very distressed little life forms…" Thor's eyebrows knitted together.

"You think there are children with her?" Loki, under normal circumstances would have laughed at how slow Thor seemed to be sometimes.

"No, you don't understand. They were able to feel stress, but were not afraid, and when I say little life forms…I mean their life force wasn't even large enough to fill a tea-cup." Thor's face fell and he looked so broken that it honestly hurt Loki.

"No…" Loki swallowed the tears he wanted to cry for his brother and took a deep breath.

"If I'm right, we only have a short window of time before the stress becomes too much. I've looked into it Thor, nothing is worse for—" Thor's tears spilled over and he shook his head violently.

"Don't say it! Don't even think it! We must go to Queens, and we must go now, fetch your maiden quickly and let us be on our way." He frantically demanded. Loki put a finger to his lips.

"No, now hush. We must leave, yes, but Britney is to stay here. You're my brother and I love you, but I am to protect my own before anyone else. Britney would do nothing but blame herself and our child doesn't need excess stress anymore than yours do. Give me a moment, and the instant I walk back out these doors we go." Thor's entire body shuddered at what that next to last sentence implied. It couldn't be, could it? Under these circumstances he prayed not, though at the same time the possibility almost made him smile.

"Britney, my love, come here." Loki ordered as he walked back into Stark Tower. Britney, who had been sitting and having a hushed conversation with Michaela about their babies and what on Earth Thor was doing there, quickly obeyed.

"Is everything alright?" He said nothing and jerked her hard into a kiss, one that bruised both of their lips, not that either cared. However, it was a sign to Britney that all was not well.

"I'll take that as a no." Loki decided not to specify and simply knelt down to, much more gently, kiss her stomach.

"I'm going to be gone for a little while, worry not and take care of our Little One, do you understand me?" She gently caressed his hair and her brow creased with worry anyway.

"You can't tell me you're going away and then ask me not to worry. I don't even know where you're going or how long you'll be gone. Why can't we come with you?" She asked, putting emphasis on the "we" by moving his hand to her abdomen.

"Oh my darling, I wish you could, but it's not safe. The reason I tell you not where my destination lies is because I know you, and I know that the knack for mischief we seem to share would only entice you to follow me. I will be with Thor, and only for a day, maybe even less, and I promise you I will tell you everything upon my return. Stay here with Michaela, she seems to have become a friend to you. I love you, and I love our baby, you must understand that I can't risk losing either of you." Britney let all this sink in for a moment and then nodded.

"We love you too." Loki smiled adoringly at her and squeezed her hand lightly.

"I know." He then kissed her once more, softly this time, and headed for the door.

"Goodbye, my fair one, be safe." He whispered, as his fingers dropped hers and he disappeared through Tony's front door.


	13. Injuries and Intercourse

It grew later and later and eventually Bruce and Meredith headed to bed, leaving Michaela and Britney still talking amongst themselves and Tony uncomfortably watching TV a few feet away. Tony didn't like that Loki had pawned his woman off on him, and her growing relationship with his wife made him uneasy. He was trying to eavesdrop, and while he wasn't close enough to catch the whole conversation the words he'd gathered so far were "Loki", "Babies", and his own name, which was equally unsettling.

Indeed the conversation had turned once again to whether or not Michaela should tell Tony she was pregnant. According to her they'd last had sex January 26th, which would have made her four weeks and two days pregnant, as today was February 22nd. Britney informed her that she'd be showing soon, as she'd just hit the one month mark.

"It'll be slight, but the way you and Tony have sex, he'd notice. From what I've heard it's a miracle that you haven't done it in a month." Michaela snorted.

"It's only because he's been so busy with that damn machine your fiancée is so obsessed with. We don't get a lot of alone time anymore." This saddened Britney and she wrapped an arm around her friend.

"I'm sorry…we never meant to do that." Michaela sighed.

"I know. Can I…can I ask you a personal question?" Britney's eyebrows rose since this had seemingly come from nowhere.

"Sure, I'm an open book." She seemed to ponder it a minute longer, wondering if it was a bad idea.

"Have you seen Loki's true form?" The answer was of course no, but now Britney really wanted too and wondered why she hadn't thought of that before.

"No, why do you ask?" Michaela looked sick.

"He's too ashamed to show you, isn't he? Just like I'm too ashamed to even tell Tony. I was hoping you'd seen it…I wanted a little courage, and I wanted to know if you found it repulsive." Britney laid a hand on her knee.

"I'm sure it's not repulsive. How could I ever think that? I love him so much." Michaela rolled her eyes.

"Love doesn't cover up ugly. You can love someone and think their uglier than dog shit." This slightly took Britney back.

"While it's true that love is blind, everyone's perception of ugly is different, just like what's beautiful to someone may not be to someone else. For example, I have thought Loki was the most gorgeous man to ever grace this planet since I first laid eyes on him, whereas my friend Emily constantly compares him to a drowned rat." Michaela laughed a bit at the comparison and she seemed to lighten up a bit.

"Aw he's not so bad looking, she needs glasses! Thor kinda looks like a pug, so, there. Besides, I thought you guys weren't friends anymore." Britney burst into laughter and then cringed at the same time. She thought the bit about Thor looking like a pug to be hilarious, though untrue due to her finding him quite attractive, but the mention of Emily not being her friend wounded her slightly.

"I don't know, that's entirely up to her. She ended it, if she wants us to be friends again she can say so." Michaela shrugged.

"Makes sense to me. Since Thor and Loki are gone I bet she's alone at you guy's apartment…we could totally go for a surprise visit just to see the look on her face." It was Britney's turn to snort.

"Yeah, right, I don't want to go back there and see what she might have done to my room. I would seriously cry if she got rid of my Lord of the Rings books and such, like you have no idea." She said seriously, reaching up to touch the replica of The Evenstar that Loki had given her, which she never took off. Michaela giggled.

"You're such a nerd." They were both quiet for a while before she added "Do you wanna see?" Britney cocked her head to the side.

"See what?" She looked around to see if Tony was looking, he wasn't.

"What I look like in Jotunn form. I may only be half but from what I can tell all half bred children between our two races are born Frost Giants, then have the ability to take human form if they so wish." Britney was intrigued greatly by this.

"Sure, I'd love to see." Michaela closed her eyes and her skin very gradually gained blue pigment, a few dark lines decorating her here and there, and when her eyes re-opened they were red as blood. The sight of her took Britney's breath away, and to her, it was not an ugly change in the least. Michaela was a beautiful human, but something about her true form was considerably more beautiful to Britney.

"I think you're gorgeous." Michaela would have accused her of lying if the amazement hadn't been shinning all over her face.

"I hope Tony sees it that way." She fixed herself back to normal, and yet Britney was still mesmerized.

"Can all Jotunn's take human form?" Michaela shook her head.

"No. I can only because I'm half and half, and Loki can only because he is a shape-shifter. Shape-shifters, unlike half-breeds who can only be one or the other, can be anything or anyone they want to be and are even rare among Asgardians, so imagine the surprise when a full blooded Frost Giant turned out to be one. Your fiancée has very special power, and is highly skilled in magic, which I'm sure you already know. Laufey was a fool to throw him away." The part about both Loki and Laufey caught Britney off guard.

"How did you know about what Loki's father did to him?"

"My mother knew Laufey. She was the midwife on duty when Loki was born, and it was she that was ordered by Laufey to rip Loki from his mother's arms, un-named and all, and keep him hidden from the kingdom. When asked what all that entailed Laufey said she could give him away as long as it never came to light that he was his son, or she could kill him for all he cared. So like the heartless bitch she was she left him to die in a temple and then carried out her duty to tell the public that it had been a still-birth." This absolutely broke Britney's heart and Michaela could tell.

"There was a reason I wanted to wait until we got to know each other before I told you my story. There is a lot of judgment to be passed, although this isn't the half of it. I didn't know all of this actually until Thor attacked Jotunheim with Loki a few years back and my mother and I both witnessed Loki's arm turn blue via contact with one of our soldiers. She decided immediately that it must be him, though I wish she'd never told me such a horrible story. I've heard many stories about Loki since then, he was supposedly quite the Asgardian warrior once upon a time." This made Britney smile.

"He's always been strong, despite popular belief." Michaela knew exactly who she was referring to and giggled.

"Tony means well. He just doesn't know how to react to Loki, which is understandable. You have to admit that he comes off—" Britney smirked and decided to interrupt.

"Like a gentleman?" She laughed.

"If you say so." Michaela yawned and having become quite comfortable with the other girl in the last few hours, she rested her head on her shoulder.

"So how come you live here now if you grew up in Jotunheim, if you don't mind me asking." Michaela sighed.

"My father died. He was human and always looked down upon by the Jotunn's, the only reason they hadn't killed him as a matter of fact was that my mother was the royal midwife, as I previously stated. Unfortunately after Laufey was slain the newly appointed king, who hated humanity far more than his predecessor gathered my older sister and I and made us watch them behead our father. My mother was then given a choice, banish us to our father's homeland or lose her job and place at the Palace. You can guess which she chose. We lived peacefully on Earth, though, up until Loki's attack on this realm. I still remember none of it due to the machine, and I didn't even remember Loki at all when we first met that day you both stopped by to ask what had happened to everyone's memories, not until recently. I think I'd blocked most of it out as a defensive mechanism to try and forget my mother. It won't be until the machine is complete that I remember how I almost died or what became of Katelyn, my sister." All of this mortified Britney, who wrapped her arms around Michaela and squeezed gently.

"I am so sorry, that's awful!" She said as a tear treaded down her cheek.

"It's fine, I'm happy here with Tony, and I want us to live as normally as we can, the three of us." She whispered, gently petting her mid-section.

"That's why you have to tell him, sweetie. It's the only way to avoid a fight later on honestly, he'll be hurt if he has to find out by simply looking at you one day." Tony had been unable to contain his curiosity any longer and had scooted closer, hearing this last bit pretty clearly. He got up and walked to where the girls were sitting, his arms folded sternly across his chest.

"Tell me what?" The color visibly drained from both Britney and Michaela's faces and Michaela shot her friend a panicked look. Britney nodded at her, and she tried to build up her courage enough to look her husband in the eye.

"Tony, we need to talk, wanna go to our bedroom?" Tony nodded and Britney stood up.

"I guess I'll go on to bed then. Good night." Michaela's eyes widened.

"Actually, do you mind staying up a while? I might want to come talk to you later, I'm not tired." Britney nodded, knowing that was code for "I'm going to need to confide in you after shit hits the fan tonight".

"Sure thing, I'll just watch TV or something." Michaela quickly pulled her into a hug and then descended the stairs with Tony in tow.

Once in their bedroom, Tony paced around furiously. Michaela grabbed the test she'd left on the desk and stuffed it in her pocket, watching him pace for a while before he finally decided he was able to talk without yelling at her.

"I know you don't remember how we first met, but after the attack on this city I came to visit you in the hospital and do you remember what you said to me?" Michaela shook her head no and it only furthered the disappointed look on Tony's face.

"Obviously not. I was flirting around with you and I said some obviously false things in order to impress you, to which you replied that you were only interested in relationships built on honesty and for me to cut the bullshit. That's one of the things I love about you, Michaela, so why have you been hiding things from me?" Her eyes misted over and she quickly avoided his gaze.

"Because you're not going to love anything about me when you find out." His eyes softened and he let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'm sure that's not true…find out what, damn it, just tell me?" Her tears spilled over and she pulled the pregnancy test out of her pocket and handed it to him.

"You remember when you told me we'd be better off without children? I-I'm sorry, I don't know if the condom failed or if something else happened but…you're a father." She decided to let that sink in before telling the rest. Tony looked kind of numb, holding the pregnancy test away from him as if it might bite.

"How far along?" He asked quietly.

"A month I suspect, since we last had sex in January, but I didn't find out until this morning." She stared hard at his face, praying for any sign of emotion to show up.

"You haven't been sick…" Michaela nodded.

"I know, from the sound of Britney's horror stories I've been pretty lucky. I did miss my period though, that's why I took the test." Finally, his eyes filled with a mix of emotions, namely fear, but that was better than nothing. The test slid through his fingers and hit the ground as he pulled Michaela securely against his chest.

"I'm sorry that you felt like I would be unhappy. I am happy, and I'll prove it to you by being everything my father wasn't. The kid will have to love me." He said the last part with a wink and she laughed bitter-sweetly.

"Oh, Tony, I don't doubt that our child will love you…but there's something else. This is what I thought would make you love me less, although the child was a genuine concern too." Tony's smile faltered a bit and he pulled back slightly.

"I've always thought I was ugly so I never showed or told you…" She backed completely out of his embrace and showed him what she'd shown Britney earlier. He stumbled back a bit, unable to look away and/or assess exactly what he was feeling.

"W-What are you?" Was all he was able to manage and Michaela put her face in her hands and wept.

"I'm a Frost Giant…just like Loki. Well, half." Tony's breath was almost clean knocked out of him.

"A-A-And the other half?" He stammered, unable to believe his eyes.

"Human. I'm so sorry I never told you, but I was trying so hard to fit in here when I was cast into this realm. I didn't want anyone to know, especially not someone I loved so dearly." Tony's face turned red and he knocked over the chair nearest to the desk.

"Damn it! Why the hell didn't you tell me this?! Trying too hard to fit in is not a fucking excuse, Michaela, when have I ever judged you? I love you, and I expect you to always be honest with me! Okay?" Michaela peeked from her hands and sniffled loudly.

"You don't want a divorce do you?" His anger almost immediately dissipated, save the anger he held towards himself for being unable to stay cross with her.

"Of course I don't, come here." He pulled her against him again and kissed her forehead.

"I just wish you'd told me. As a matter of fact, I kind of like it." Her face lit up.

"You do?" Instead of answering, he captured her lips and pushed her down to their bed, stripping her of her clothes and examining the new colors of her body. He did, now that it had been pointed out, notice that her stomach was a tiny bit pudgier, and he smiled to himself.

"Looks like Loki and I have more in common with each other than I initially thought." He said with a laugh, placing a kiss to her stomach before moving down to kiss her between the legs. He then rid himself of his own clothes and got up, rummaging through their bedside table.

"Baby, a condom is a bit of a moot point now." Michaela giggled.

"Oh no, babe, that's not what I'm getting." He pulled out some thick ropes and tied her hands above her to the headboard, and then he bent low and slipped two rather large silver benwa balls inside of her.

"Rub your legs together. Now." She did as she was told while he made work of slicking his dick up with her favorite flavored lube—wild cherry. He enjoyed watching her squirm by her own doing, eventually beginning to rub her newly blue clit when the benwa balls weren't enough. As the sight before him made him harder he seriously considered going and grabbing the flogger, which was a highlight of the night they conceived their child, yet the child was the reason he decided against it. Tony and Michaela had never had what one would call a normal sex life, as both of them were highly possessive and enjoyed the pain they inflicted on one another. While he accepted that it would now have to be considerably more gentle, it didn't mean they couldn't have fun. He pulled a vibrator from under the bed and set it on high, sticking it inside of her, pushing the benwa balls even further up, and positioning himself over her face.

"Suck it." She lifted her head up and did as she was told, taking his cock all the way to the very back of her throat. He moaned and began fucking her mouth while she rocked into the vibrator. Using one hand to hold himself up, he used the other to take one of her swollen breasts and massage it around her nipple. She cried out due to the over-stimulation, but didn't dare cry the safe-word. She was on the edge of release, the vibrator kneading the benwa balls into her g-spot over and over, and the taste of cherries all over her husband's cock was enough to drive her mad.

"Don't you dare orgasm, if you do I will spank you, do you understand?" He commanded, pulling his dick out of her mouth.

"Yes sir." She tried her best to hold it back as he pulled the vibrator out of her and held it against her tits, the warm wetness and the vibration itself making them erect. She whimpered in protest, much to his delight, and he leaned in for a savage kiss, a kiss that made Loki and Britney's rough kisses look like a peck on the cheek.

"Don't worry…I'll replace it with something you'll like better." Without further warning he rammed his dick deep inside of her, causing them both to cry out loudly.

"I-I can't….ugh!" She moaned, aching to touch him in the ways that he was touching her. She fought against her restraints to no avail, the rope cutting and burning her wrists in the way they both knew she craved.

"Harder!" Tony rolled his hips and pushed in as far as he could, holding completely still when he could go in no further.

"Beg me." Michaela whimpered and attempted to lifted herself up and push back down on him. He spanked her as hard as he could.

"Bad girl, I said beg me." He growled, pulling her leg closer to him and biting down hard enough to draw blood.

"Oh god, yeeess, please! Please, harder!" Tony smirked and let go of her leg, licking away the small amount of blood there.

"That's a good girl." He continued to slam into her sizzling womanhood, finally going as fast and hard as he could, Michaela practically melting beneath him.

Britney had become alarmed when an hour passed and she still hadn't come back, and around the time that Tony bit Michaela she heard a scream that traveled all the way down the stairs. Britney didn't have Tony pegged as a violent man, and he wasn't (except for in bed), but it scared her to death and she ran up there faster than lightening. Without knocking, she tore the foolishly unlocked door open and he mouth nearly hit the floor.

"U-Um…Mr. S-St-aaark….I'm just gunna…um…" It had been one thing to walk in on the sweet love making of Emily and Thor, but it was another to walk in on a pregnant Jotunn being flogged (he decided he couldn't help himself and would be careful) by Ironman. Just like that Britney was on the floor and out cold.  
The night passed with Michaela and Tony cleaning up and taking care of the fainted Britney, but by morning Thor and Loki still hadn't found Emily. They had broken and entered into just about every house on that street and there was no trace of the man or Emily.

"We have two houses left, Loki, what if we don't find her and…and the children…" Loki crossed his arms in determination.

"My nieces or nephews are not going to perish, shut your ungodly cakehole! We have to keep looking, if she isn't in the next two houses we take to the next street." This surprised Thor yet again, as Loki seemed to be very passionate about saving two more heirs to the throne of Asgard that would be in line before him. What he didn't seem to realize was that Loki had meant what he said earlier about loving his brother, and he loved his brother's children just as much, heirs to the throne or not. Besides, with every empty house they found Thor seemed to get more and more hopeless, and Loki wanted to instill in him the flame burning inside that made him ache to protect Britney and their baby.

"If you'd known earlier on, when spending time with her, you wouldn't be so mopey, Thor, you'd have a fire lit under your ass." He whispered as they quietly broke in to the next to last house. Thor didn't say anything, wasting no time counting his lucky stars that this was the house.

Thankfully, Thor's lucky stars seemed to be on his side. This particular house was very drab on the inside. Everything was dingy, the furniture appearing dirty and rag-like. Everything in Midgard looked less than great to someone that had lived in Asgard all their lives, but Thor and Loki had never seen anything like this.

"Ugh, these filthy Midgardian pigs…they should be begging me to rule them, they certainly wouldn't be living like this." Thor, while equally appalled, glared at Loki.

"You ought to be a bit nicer, your fiancée is Midgardian and your child is half." Loki rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but that's different. Britney and I are cut from the same cloth, we were both born in realms we never belonged in. Our destinies are in Asgard. This poor bastard not only belongs here, but he needs divine intervention." They snuck around for a while longer, looking for any sign of Emily at all while trying to not wake any of the residence, as it was around three in the morning.

"Hang on, Thor, come here. This paneling looks a little dodgy." Thor walked carefully over to where Loki was standing, eyeing the wooded panel on the east side of the living room wall. There were very slight thin cracks in certain places in the wood in a manner that suggested it may open.

"Is there a hinge?" Loki shook his head.

"I don't think so, it's not a door, simply a panel, I believe. Help me try and pull it off." Neither Loki nor Thor had very long nails, and pulling the panel off the wall proved to be harder than they'd initially thought.

"This is bloody ridiculous, go get me a knife from this sad arse's kitchen." Thor was back shortly with a large knife, which he assumed would be used to pry the panel off. Instead Loki jabbed it through the wood with a loud pop, filling Thor with panic.

"Brother, you will wake them!" Thor hissed. Loki shrugged.

"So be it, I'm wanted for murder in this realm, who cares if I get charged for breaking and entering and vandalism? All that matters is finding out if she's here or not now stop you're blabbering and help me pull the wood away from where I've made the hole, would you?" When they finally separated the paneling from the wall, they both gasped. It opened up into a dark shabby room, where a thick musty smell assaulted their noses.

"Emily?" They both whispered, cautiously slipping around in the darkness, looking around in horror at tall the atrocious things lying around the room.

"Loki there are enough sedatives and narcotics lying around to take down a full grown mountain troll. This is not good at all, can you try to pinpoint her location again, just to see if this is the right place?" Loki nodded and closed his eyes, reaching out not only for Emily, but for the small heavily stressed little ones that he was concerned about. He was relieved to find that he could still sense the children, though the poor things were just barely hanging on. His eyes shot open and he turned sharply, kicking the closet door to his right in. His agile body reacted quickly and cat-like, making sure he caught the door before it potentially landed on someone. The room then glowed, as many a candle were lit and on an alter in the closet. They illuminated pictures and pictures of Emily on the walls, pictures it didn't look like she knew were being taken. Even creepier were the pictures taken apparently outside her apartment, with Thor, but Thor's face had been cut out of all of them.

"Fuck, this man is mad, Thor, come look at this." Loki exclaimed as he walked further in and found Emily, huddled up unconscious in a far corner in the back. He picked her up and cradled her against his chest, walking to Thor, whom of course flew into hysterics.

"Brother…she's bleeding, i-is that a wound to the side? B-But you said that she's—" Loki cut him off quickly.

"She is, we need to get her to a hospital immediately. I myself suggest heading home, but I don't know how much time we have left…her body is under too much stress and she's losing blood, but I don't trust the people here, especially not now." Thor opened his mouth to respond, but there was a noise coming from outside the room within the cracked paneling and it re-lit a sense of fear in both of them.

"Listen to me, you are not going to let him get away with this, this is our family he fucked with and I'm not having it. I'm zapping us outside and then ascending to Asgard as quickly as possible. If I come back and this prick hasn't been beaten to a pulp I will beat you to a pulp, I promise you, brother." Nothing more was said as Loki disappeared and Mr. Eckard entered the room.

"Why?" Was all Thor could choke out as he came face to face with the man that had so badly hurt the love of his life. Mr. Eckard's face was void of any and all emotions, it was like a black canvas that the artist had been too afraid to give color, and frankly, it frightened Thor. Not in the sense that he was afraid of the measly human man, but afraid of what all he may have done to his maiden.

"I told you not to look for her." Thor's face went rigid and he summoned his hammer.

"You are no longer able to harm her, you hold no power over me." Mr. Eckard laughed, though it sounded not like the laugh of a man, but a hyena.

"She will never be safe from me, she is my student. Surely you must understand that a girl like Emily is not going to abandon her studies, she's too smart." This made Thor smirk in a very Loki-ish way, knowing that Mr. Eckard had no idea that by now his brother had her safely in another realm and he would never see her again.

"Sorry, I don't believe she'll be coming to class anymore. She has officially moved." The deranged teacher pulled a dagger from his pocket and flung it a Thor, slicing into his shoulder. Thor felt the pain, but right now he was so angry, worried, and pumped up on adrenaline that it in no way stunted his throwing abilities. He threw his left hook straight into the old man's gut, keeping himself from throwing his hammer, which would certainly end his life. It was enough, though, to send Eckard to his knees.

"You're garbage, to do that to a young woman, and I am sickened by you. However, I will not take from you what you may have taken from my love, I will not take your life no matter how you deserve it. But listen to me you insolent peasant, if I ever find out you've harmed another lady, I will not be merciful with your punishment. A gentleman never hits a lady." He turned to leave, but then thought better of it and clocked him once more, this time in the face.

Loki ran frantically to his mother, scared shitless that Emily was taking her last breaths in his arms as she was becoming heavy as led. Loki wasn't angry at all anymore, and he was sure Britney wouldn't be either when she saw her friend's state.

"Mother she needs the doctor now! Please, we must help her, she's carrying Thor's children!" Frigga, becoming instantly bewildered and overwhelmed, made no attempt in concealing Loki as she grabbed hold of him and ran for the doctor's quarters.

Once in the hands of the royal doctor, Emily was immediately hooked up to a heart monitor and an ultrasound device was hooked up, which Frigga was asked to hold to her stomach to monitor the babies while her wounds were being tended to.

"You must be alright, milady, do you understand me? You can't leave my brother." That was the most respect he'd ever bestowed upon Emily, as a matter of fact, he'd only ever addressed Sif as "milady", whom he respected as a warrior, and it absolutely stunned Frigga. Loki himself couldn't believe it had just flown out of his mouth, but circumstances had changed a bit after finding out she was to have his brother's children. He squeezed her hand and gently brushed her hair, matted with blood, from her face.

"I'm going to get Britney, alright? Please don't die while I'm gone."

Britney was in the middle of breakfast with Michaela, Meredith, Dr. Banner, and Tony, when there was an enormous knock on the door.

"Jesus Christ, my poor door is gunna break one of these days." Tony grumbled as he got up to answer it. It was Loki, whom was now trying to calm himself enough to not cause panic in Britney when he told her.

"I have returned for you, sweetheart, but we must leave this instant, come." Britney obeyed, hugging Michaela goodbye and thanking Tony for his hospitality.

"What's the rush?" Loki nodded his thanks to Tony and ushered Britney outside. He rubbed her back gently and rested his forehead against hers.

"Promise me you won't freak out, and I'll tell you." This of course freaked her out on impact but she promised anyway.

"Thor and I were gone because…Emily was being held hostage by your creepy teacher…" Britney's hands flew to her mouth.

"Oh I knew not to trust that dirt-bag, is she okay?" This was the difficult part.

"Well…I can't say. I left her in the care of the best doctor in Asgard and my mother, but I promised we'd be back as soon as I got you." Tears filled her eyes and Loki laughed gently, kissing her forehead.

"You sweet little liar, you said you'd remain calm." Britney buried her face in Loki's shirt.

"I'm sorry Loki, it's just hard." He tangled his fingers in her hair and sighed.

"I know, darling, I know. Believe me. Angel, she's…she's also pregnant. With twins." Britney's throat suddenly felt like it was tightening shut.

"Please tell me they're alright…oh Loki, please…" Loki's tear filled eyes matched her own and he shook his head.

"Baby I wish I could say, but I can't. I don't know." Britney's tears spilled over and he grabbed his hand.

"Take me to her, this is all my fault." Loki called Heimdall to open the bifrost, all while looking sternly, yet still of course lovingly, at Britney.

"Don't you dare say such things, this is nobody's fault. The man was sick in the head, this was bound to happen to one of his students, you didn't see what I saw. The fact that it was Emily was simply bad luck." Britney sniffled.

"Thank you, for saving her life." Loki smiled down at her gently.

"She's your best friend, no matter how badly you were fighting. I couldn't let anything happen to someone so close to you and my brother."

When they returned to the doctor's quarters they were both relieved and mortified. It was an immense plus to see that Thor had returned and was at his lady's bedside, and that the gash in her side was completely stitched up now. However, there to ruin everything, as Loki was convinced was his personal profession, was Odin; all-father and source of all this family's issues. Wasn't this going to be fun?


	14. Everybody Hates Odin

Loki instantaneously took a protective stance in front of Britney, disliking the way his "father" was staring her down. Loki wasn't sure how Odin had found out or what he was doing there, but he assumed that someone who'd seen him rushing Emily in to see the doctor had blabbed.

When I get my hands on whoever did this I'm going to murder them as they sleep. He thought angrily, making eye contact with Odin and having a bit of a staring contest, it seemed, before the old man finally dared speak.

"My son, it is unfortunate that you decided to slip from your cell. Your mother worked very hard at convincing me to make it more like a room than a cell, however this stunt you've pulled I'm afraid is landing you a place among the rest of our prisons inmates. You are to be escorted there shortly." Britney grabbed hold of Loki tightly.

"He deserves to be in no cell, why can't you just show him mercy?" Odin walked a bit closer, his eye darkening and his face growing grimmer.

"I have shown him mercy. I did not order to have him returned when I found out he was in Midgard, did I? It was his own doing that he is being imprisoned, he should have never came back." Loki never faltered, not in confidence nor in bravery.

"I had to come home, though, didn't I? It's my understanding that decrepit people like you are overjoyed to learn they are to be grandparents." Odin sneered.

"Oh? So you came back to tell me Thor's bastard children had been conceived? You wanted to see the pain it brought me, didn't you? Why doesn't that surprise me." Thor bowed his head in shame, obviously hurt by this, and Frigga tried her hardest not to intervene.

"No, this is news to me as well, but thank you for thinking so highly of me father, I'm glad the feelings are reciprocated." Loki spat, pushing Britney further behind him as the confrontation escalated.

"You're trying to tell me that the unfortunate soul behind you is up the duff? Splendid, absolutely marvelous, both my son's are a disgrace to this family. I expected this from you, but how dare you corrupt the heir to my throne. I should have left you to die that night in Jotunheim."

"Yes you should have! I would have been better off!" Loki shouted, fighting with all his might not to cry. Of course he knew this had just stabbed Frigga in the heart, but what else was there to say?

"Well I didn't end your life as I should have, but I will not make the same mistake twice. After Thor's…mistress, is done being tended to for the night and you're back in a cell where you belong, the doctor will terminate your mistake and send the young lady back home. There will not be another you running around this realm, and that's final." Loki snarled and summoned his staff.

"You will not touch her. Even if I am to die by your hand, she will live on and give birth to my child, a child she will love more than you ever dared love another person. And then, when the time is right that child will find you, oh will he/she find you. You will rue the day my heir comes to take what's rightfully theirs, I promise you…your majesty." Odin smiled a sickeningly smug smile.

"Not if it's never born. Guards, take the prisoner where it belongs." Two rather large Asgardians came at Loki from both sides and Britney wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his back.

"No! Please don't do this!" Loki shot at the guards with his staff, either stunning or killing them, he wasn't sure which, and then pulled a blade from within one of his boots, flinging it at Odin and disappearing with Britney in tow. The blade missed, unfortunately, and it only furthered Odin's anger. However, it seemed that out of a room full of hurt and betrayed people, there was one angrier than Odin. Frigga, bless her heart, strutted across the room and slapped him hard across the face.

"Why do you do this?! Our sons were happy Odin, happy! For the first time in a long time they were showing that they loved one another, and you had to ruin it! How dare you threaten to abort my grandchild, I ought to —" She was cut off by being literally pimp slapped so hard it knocked her to the floor.

"That monstrosity is not our grandchild! If I am not his father, he is not my son, and while I can over-look Thor's actions, Loki's I cannot." Thor ran to his mother quickly, lifting her up off the floor and gently rubbing the handprint on her cheek.

"Are you alright, mother?" She nodded.

"Don't worry about me, Thor, go find your little brother and bring him back home. Nothing will become of his child whilst I'm still breathing." Thor obeyed without blinking, walking briskly past his father and out to the bifrost to ask Heimdall where Loki had gone.

"Frigga, I did not mean to strike you, but you must not emasculate me in front of our son." Frigga glared daggers at him.

"You emasculated yourself. A real man shows a maiden the utmost respect, doesn't murder his grandchildren, and most importantly stops acting like a five year old and grows a pair of testes!" She yelled, raising her voice at him for the second time that day, but the first time in years, and it felt wonderful.

"She's not a maiden, obviously Loki made sure of that." Frigga rolled her eyes.

"That matters not and you know it. The transition from maidenhood to motherhood is a beautiful one. Don't you dare take it from her, you know how hard it is to become pregnant, she and Loki are lucky it worked on the first try." Of course she didn't know how different Midgardian conception worked, but it hardly mattered.

"It usually does, it's the second and third attempts that are fruitless." Frigga sighed.

"Exactly, if you take this from them now they may never get another chance." Odin nodded.

"That's the point. There are certain people in this world that need not reproduce, and Loki is one of them. Laufey was an unfit parent just as Loki will be, and if allowed to live the product of this pregnancy will be just as warped and deluded as they were." Frigga gritted her teeth and counted to ten.

"Loki. Is. Not. Warped. He was always my sweet little baby, any warping done to him was done by you. Everything he ever did was to prove himself worthy of your love and I watched it destroy him. But now, he has Britney, and they're having that baby and it has changed him in ways you'd never care to notice. But I've noticed, and I will fight until my heart gives out to keep that child safe. Go ahead Odin, kill that baby, but you won't be able to live with the consequences." Odin folded his arms over his chest.

"Is that right? And what exactly would those be?" Frigga smiled bitter-sweetly, but finally. She'd long made her decision.

"Loki will break. Nothing good will be left in him, I swear it to you, and I will stand by and watch as he slays you. I will say nothing, weep not, and hand him the throne myself because there will be nothing good left in me either. If that's what you want then fine, but I can't do this anymore. You have until Thor brings them back to make up your mind, and because I love you I pray you make the right choice." She said no more as she sat back down at Emily's bedside, turning her attention to the ultrasound.

Turns out, Loki had fled to another realm, but not to Midgard. Loki was now pacing back in forth in an alley in Nidavellir.

"I can't believe him, Britney, I can't. He's never been the kindest person…but to go as far as trying to rip my baby from my arms, I just can't. I hate him so much." Britney, who was shaking and crying, shook her head.

"I know, I'm so sorry." Loki bent down and picked her up bridal style in his arms and then sat down on a rock, cradling her in his lap.

"What are you sorry for? You haven't done anything. I can't leave you alone anymore, though, not for a second. Not in Midgard, not in Asgard…I just…I don't understand while our child is the one being targeted." Britney only cried harder.

"This is why I didn't want to get pregnant, as much as I love our baby I knew we'd end up burdening you, I knew it." Loki's arms enveloped her and he pulled her face roughly up to look him in the eyes.

"You are no burden to me, I love you more than anything, that is why I protect you, I need to protect you to protect my heart. My heart lies within you, I gave it to you what seems like centuries ago, that night in the bar. I have reached the point where I don't think I could ever live without you, and this happened by my own choice. I didn't have to stick around, I didn't have to pursue my fancy of you. I could have walked away painlessly a long time ago, and I allowed myself to fall in love with you instead. You have never burdened me." The broken look in her eyes was splitting his heart in two.

"Please, fair one, don't you believe me? You trust me, don't you?" Britney leaned in and kissed him gently.

"Of course I do, Loki. I can't live without you either, but I want to see your dreams come true so bad. I want to see you sitting on the throne of Asgard, the world absolutely at your feet, like you've always wanted. You'd be such a great ruler." Loki sighed.

"That can wait. Only with you by my side will that get accomplished, I realized that early on, we are a magnificent team. I've waited a long time to take over, I can wait a few more months. Besides, this doesn't mean we have to stop working toward our goal, we just can't be apart…which, when you think about it we aren't apart much anyway. I don't like being away from you." Britney dried her tears and nuzzled into Loki's chest.

"I want to be with you forever." She whispered, incapable of finding another phrase to properly state what she was feeling in that moment. Loki pulled her left hand to his lips and kissed her engagement ring.

"You will be, that's what this ring means. You will be my wife, and you will be by my side until the day you die. I will then follow shortly after, and then we'll be together in the after-life, I swear it. Eventually, much, much later I hope, our kids will follow, all seven or eight of them, and we'll be happy for the rest of eternity." Britney laughed.

"Seven or eight?" Loki shrugged.

"Why not…I said I wanted an army." He said with a chuckle, his eyes brightening and losing a bit of their previous anger. Britney beamed and he tilted her chin up to kiss her nose.

"There's that smile, you should smile all the time." It was then that they were interrupted by Thor.

"Mother has requested you both back at the Palace." Loki snorted.

"No, I love mother, but ruddy hell, how could she ask that of me?" Thor shrugged.

"She said as long as she was still breathing no harm would come to the child." Loki's face hardened and he put his foot down.

"I said no and I meant no. I'm not endangering my family, this is final. Odin has to go, I can't trust him. Mother can't promise me he won't do anything, no matter how badly I know she wants too." Thor looked down at the floor and Loki immediately knew something was wrong.

"She needs us, Loki. We never should have left home in the first place I'm afraid. I never believed you when you told me he didn't treat her right." Loki's eyes narrowed.

"What did he do?" He demanded, his anger already returning full-fledge.

"He stuck her." Britney could feel Loki's body go one-hundred percent taut and every good natured and loving thing about him that he'd just been showing so freely evaporated into thin air. Loki was officially in stealth-killer mode, and he jerked himself up, Britney still in his arms, and practically thrust her at Thor.

"Keep my woman safe, you owe me anyway. We're going to Asgard now and I am not leaving until the seas run red. I want no arguments, no bullshit, and if one person so much as breathes near my kid I expect there to be murder." Loki's voice was full of authority and might, and to Britney he had never sounded more kingly. Thor did as he said, there was no arguing on the way to Asgard, or even once they entered the palace. Loki was showing power he'd never shown before, and it only proved what Odin should have known from the very beginning. You can push around realms of lower beings, you can push around his brother, and to a very slight extent you can even push around his fiancée, but anyone dare touch Loki Laufeyson's mother—death will come on swift wings.


	15. The Mad Bachelor Party

When Loki returned to the doctor's quarters he was significantly shocked. Emily was awake and crying, Frigga trying to console her, and Odin was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?!" He demanded, the urgency in his voice startling both women.

"Please calm down, Loki, Odin left." For the first time in his life, Loki raised his voice at his mother.

"Don't make me ask again, where is he?!" Frigga sighed.

"Loki, please, don't shout. I know you're upset, but I took care of it. I told him if he touched your child I would help you kill him and take over the throne myself and that he'd better be gone by the time you returned." This seemed to please Loki, as he calmed down a bit and pulled Frigga into a hug.

"He's not to touch you ever again. I am moving in, now, officially and I will be here to keep an eye on him, assuming he doesn't catch me and put me away, that is." Frigga scowled.

"He won't, I won't let him. I have informed every guard in this palace that they aren't to touch you. Odin's word may be law but the people around here respect me more and I have told them all to send Odin to me if he gives such an order." Loki scratched the back of his head.

"That's all fine and dandy, but I'm more concerned about Britney, as far as living here goes. I have plans for her to birth our child here, and I plan for us to be here a long time. We can't do that though, if someone terminates our pregnancy. I don't care what you threatened him with, I don't trust him. She stays with me at all times and if I simply must be parted with her please promise me you'll stay with her, always." Frigga squeezed Loki, proud of the amounts of love he'd grown in his heart for his child.

"Of course, that's my grandchild, Loki. I promise to do whatever I can to be a good grandmother and keep it safe." He kissed her cheek and smiled lovingly at her.

"I know, you're the best mother anyone could ask for, I have no doubt you'll be an even more excellent grandmother." Frigga choked up and pulled out of Loki's embrace, running and hugging Britney, whom Thor had just put down.

"Welcome to the family, my dear. I can't wait to meet this baby. By the way, everything for yours and Loki's wedding is set, you just say the word and I'll make the ceremony happen." Britney grinned.

"Thank you so much." She then turned her attention to the back of the room where the still sniveling Emily was. Britney, since she was now free of Thor and Frigga's restraints, ran to her.

"Oh Emily, I'm so freaking sorry that I'm a piece of shit friend, I'll make it up to you, I swear!" She turned to face the doctor.

"How are the babies?" The doctor pointed to the monitor.

"Decent, considering the circumstances. They're little fighters, thank the gods. They should be just fine once things calm down." Emily wiped away a tear or two and smiled.

"It's okay Britney, we've both been pieces of shit lately." Britney nodded and wrapped her arms very delicately around Emily.

"I know we have, I know." Emily patted her stomach.

"Can you believe it? I'm having twins, Britney, I never even thought…I mean Thor told me it was so unlikely." Britney laughed and gingerly touched her own.

"Yeah Loki told me that too." Emily's eyes widened.

"You're…oh my god how long have you known?" Loki walked up behind Britney and slipped his hand up her shirt, massaging her abdomen in a way they'd both already become accustomed to in the short two day period that they'd known.

"We found out early yesterday morning. We tried to tell you but…well, you hung up on me." Emily immediately jumped on the defensive.

"I was trying to get away from Mr. Eckard!" Loki laughed gently and gave her a soothing look that she was in no way used to receiving from him.

"I know, it's alright. Didn't do a very good job at running though, did you?" He teased, earning a good glare from Emily.

"Sometimes you make it hard to hate you." Loki smirked.

"Well damn, don't grow all soft on me." Now it was Emily's turn to smirk.

"Who's going soft? Mr. I'm going to caress you all gentle like and call you milady all of a sudden because you're pregnant." Loki stammered a bit and then turned his gaze to the floor.

"I thought you were unconscious…and besides, it's not that you're pregnant, it's that those angels are my family. Believe it or not, minus my rubbish father, I adore my family." Emily snickered.

"I think that's an excuse for you kinda liking me, but I'll take it. And I was unconscious for the most part, but I heard bits a pieces." She said sheepishly, causing Loki to roll his eyes and burry his smile into Britney's neck. This of course turned into an excuse to nibble on her neck and earlobe and it quite disturbed Emily.

"Good lord I'm gone for three weeks and you two have gotten even more lovey and sickening than before." Britney stuck her tongue out.

"Meanie." Pleased that all seemed to be well, Thor walked over with a large smile on his face.

"It's been a long time since the three of you have managed civil conversation." Emily raised one of her arms towards Thor, who happily brushed past Britney and Loki and took her outstretched hand.

"Thank you my love, for this blessing. I am however, sorry to say that I must not stick around to celebrate. My behavior of late has been…off. I've been in Midgard so long that I'm afraid I've forgotten how to stand up to my father, as Mother saw when I failed to do much when he struck her. In the short while he's been gone and I went in search for Loki I grew more and more ashamed, and have decided I am going out on a mission with the old team tonight. It's been a long while since I've seen battle." Loki grinned, removing his hand from Britney's shirt and stepping closer to Thor in excitement.

"Am I part of this "old team"?" Thor grinned and slapped Loki on the back.

"I wouldn't have it any other way, brother." Loki spun around and dipped Britney back, kissing her long and hard and giving her the brightest smile she'd ever seen.

"I must go, please see to it that you and my mother set everything up while I'm gone, and when I return tomorrow morning I intend to make you my wife." Britney blushed in Loki's favorite way, the blush that travels from her cheeks up.

"Yes." Was all she could bring herself to say, leaning in for another quick kiss before Loki grabbed Thor and the two of them bounded off in search of Sif and the others.

The gathering of their friends was the easy part, but there was no orders from Odin for the six of them to go anywhere and there hadn't been for a very long time. Loki smiled broadly at all of them, unperturbed by any of this.

"Who cares what Odin has and has not ordered? The last time I fought alongside you all was arguably one of the worst days of my life and I remember it very well. We went to Jotunheim without orders because Thor wanted to teach them a lesson. Who says we can't do that again?" Thor sighed.

"Because I'm not that type of person anymore, Loki." Loki's eyes only shone brighter.

"Exactly, isn't that what you want to achieve? To get your old spine back?" Thor couldn't help the smile that was tugging at his lips.

"I am able to love my woman and child and still be a strong, ill-behaved, and ambitious warrior. Thor on the other hand has seemed to have fallen from tiger to wet kitten. Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, it is our job to establish a firm line between how he treats his wench and how he treats the rest of the nine realms." Thor shoved Loki and snarled a bit.

"Don't call her a wench!" Loki chuckled and clapped his hands.

"Good, you need to do more of this." Sif folded her arms crossly and stared Loki down.

"Give me one good reason why we should trust you." Loki ignored Sif and pushed Thor into the wall behind them.

"Come on, brother, get angry, come at me." Thor was taken off guard a bit and simply stood there.

"I said come at me!" Loki snared, kneeing him in the stomach. Thor doubled over, coughing a few times and Loki rolled his eyes.

"Your maiden is scum of Midgard and your children will amount to nothing. Emily's not even a maiden, she's a hag! You have shamed our people by spilling your seed into the belly of a whore!" With each word Loki's voice grew louder, and harsher, raising his arms offensively and cornering Thor, whose eyes filled with pure rage.

"Shut up!" Thor tackled Loki to the ground, his knuckles meeting Loki's nose with a loud pop. Then another time, and a third, and Loki couldn't help but allow it, wanting his brother to regain some of that brutality he'd been born with. Eventually, Sif of all people had to pull Thor off, as Loki was becoming rather bruised and he had a wedding to be at the next morning.

"Brother I…I'm sorry." Loki grunted and accepted Thor's hand to help him to his feet.

"Don't be sorry, warriors are sorry for nothing. Are you ready now?" Thor seemed to be having an intense internal battle with himself.

"Ready to start another Asgardian war with the Jotunn's? After what happened last time? No, we can't do that." Loki looked ready to scream.

"War with Jotunheim was not what I meant when I referred to our last fight together. I simply meant that you were so powerful, so fearless! There is no way to get that back unless we do something. I'm sorry Odin has gotten sloppy and not given any orders to his best warriors in forever, maybe if I were king our military wouldn't be lying around like broken tools. But as I am not king and Odin is a daft cow, we're going to have to wing this. Show me battle, Thor, give glory to me on my last night as an unmarried man." Thor seemed to think this over for a few moments before smiling devilishly at his brother.

"Okay, my brother, I have a bachelor party to present you. Best to avoid Jotunheim, but I do have an idea. How about we have some fun in Svartalfheim?" Loki's mouth hung agape at even the suggestion of that.

"The dark elves are more ruthless than the Jotun's, they would retaliate on our realm no doubt." Thor laughed.

"Yes, they may be more ruthless but they're certainly the weaker lot compared to the Frost Giants. I was going to suggest Alfheim but those are such a peaceful bunch, that would be rather unfair. Surely there is a middle ground." Fandral decided to speak up.

"My suggestion is Midgard. They don't know how to travel between realms, hell, they hardly know other realms exist." Loki and Thor both delivered a simultaneous no and Sif rolled her eyes.

"No we dare not touch the precious Midgardians that you two seem to love so much." Thor shot her an incredulous look.

"Hey, we both have a long list of reasons that Midgard isn't an option, it's not just that." Fandral and Volstagg both snickered.

"Don't mind her, she's only jealous." Of course she was jealous, Odin had only been pushing for her and Thor to be together since they were children. She'd been under the impression for many a year that one day they'd be married, and now he was having children with another woman.

"Well this leaves Vanaheim and Nidavellir, because I can guarantee that none of you wish to venture to Niffleheim or Muspelheim…not that we could anyway without dying or a great deal of strenuous effort." Hogun interjected. Loki sighed heavily.

"This has become a lot more complicated than it should be. I'm still a little scarred from the Aesir-Vanir War, that crosses off Vanaheim. Screw this, let's go to Svartalfheim like Thor suggested in the first place, I am not attacking the dwarves in Nidavellir." Thor's eyebrows knitted together.

"No, no, you were right the first time, we shouldn't provoke the dark elves." Sif was about to rip her hair out.

"Jeez, I thought this was to restore your manhood, but my god, you're both too soft to attack Midgard, Thor seems to have a soft spot for the light elves in Alfheim and Loki is sweet on the dwarves apparently, this is madness!" She complained.

"Have you got any better ideas?" Loki spat, irritated that she seemed to be in an absolutely atrocious mood.

"Yeah, why don't we either not do this stupid thing in the first place, or go to Jotunheim so I can kick your people's arses?" Loki narrowed his eyes.

"They are not my people." The awkwardness in the room was so tangible it could be cut with a knife and Thor thought Sif and Loki were going to murder each other.

"Loki, do you think things will be okay if we go to Jotunheim since Laufey is no longer in power?" Loki looked at him as if he were stupid.

"I killed Laufey, so no. I think they will be less than happy to see me." This so called bachelor party was beginning to look bleak. There seemed to be nowhere they could go to accomplish their goal, and tensions between them were rising above what was normal for any sort of "party".

"Aw, is baby Loki scared of the big bad Frost Giants?" Sif taunted with her lip out, pushing Loki over the edge.

"You know what? Fine. You want Jotunheim, I'll give it to you. Heimdall, the bifrost, now." Thor pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in exasperation.

"Here we go."  
Jotunheim was exactly as they all remembered; a cold and unforgiving wasteland. It was barren and daunting, the frigid air whipping and burning their faces. Loki was glad Britney wasn't with him, he never wanted her to know that he came from this. There seemed to be a lower population than the last time they'd visited, that or they were hiding from the newcomers, which was no surprise considering their realm had been in shambles for so long. They walked across the desolate land aimlessly for a long while, nothing in sight but caverns and snow for miles.

"Loki, your people are boring." Sif chided, earning a hiss from Loki.

"You're the insolent quim that wanted to come here, shut your mouth." It was then that they came across two small Jotunn children playing near the edge of a frozen lake. While the other's kept walking, Loki felt compelled to stop. It was a little boy and a little girl, and the girl ran up and he kneeled down to her height.

"Hello there, child, where are your mum and dad?" He asked gently, his eyes analyzing the features of the kid, wondering if that's what his own Little One would look like. She was probably around five, but tall and wide as a giant should be, and Loki figured his child would be smaller.

"Dead." Replied the child, looking around as if she would be in trouble if anyone overheard.

"You and your brother…you fend for yourselves then?" She shook her head.

"No, our uncle…" She trailed off as she felt a hard grip upon her shoulder.

"Hel, I don't know what you think you're doing talking to this…outsider, but I suggest you and your brother run along. Now." She grabbed her brother's hand and fled, Loki standing to meet this new stranger.

"That was harsh, don't you think?" A frost giant about a foot taller than Loki was towering over him, coming a little too close for comfort.

"Maybe you shouldn't snoop in other people's business." The giant said with a growl, grabbing hold of Loki's shirt.

"Yeah? Last time I checked it wasn't a crime to ask a child if she was alright. Seemed to me like no one was looking after her." Next thing Loki knew he was three feet away and tasting blood. He sat up out of the snow, allowing his original form to manifest as he got to his feet. The giant had the reaction he was hoping for.

"L-Loki…" Loki pulled his head back in a bit of a cackle.

"Heard of me, have you?" The giant bellowed.

"You murdered the great king Laufey!" Loki's confidence only grew as he heard Thor and the others backtracking towards the sounds of his yells.

"Yeah, what of it? He was my old man, I had right by birth to put the old fool out of his misery." The Jotunn, angered by this new, confusing information, trudged forward. He attempted to run Loki down, but was met with a doppelganger who turned to smoke as he fell on his face.

"Laufey had no sons! His son was stillborn!" The giant cried while spitting out mouthfuls of snow.

"Yeah, he'd have liked you all to believe that, wouldn't he?" Loki roared, kicking him back down and pulling a dagger out of his other boot (the first having been thrown at Odin) and pulling it back to slit his throat.

"No, please! My niece and nephew are only five years old, they don't have anyone else!" Oh fuck me. Loki thought to himself. I can't orphan these twins…that would be like Thor and Emily dying in a tragic accident and then someone killing me in cold blood and leaving Thor's children all alone. Loki wanted to damn his conscience, but he lowered the dagger and the Jotunn took the upper-hand, rolling on top and choking Loki. Just when he was about to slip into darkness, a crack of thunder was heard and when Loki was able to sit up, he saw that Thor had knocked the giant off him with his hammer. Initially Loki was grateful that Thor had saved his life, but when Thor's hands got into position to snap his neck, Loki fought hard to scream out a no. It was a moot point, however, as due from the choking his voice wouldn't raise above a whisper and the Jotunn died by his brothers hands.

"Well, leave it to you, Loki, to find battle. Though I sincerely wish you hadn't nearly gotten yourself killed in the process." He teased, helping him to his feet. Loki, upset as he was, was unable to run and find the children as many Jotunn's who'd witnessed the killing came running.

They're safer wherever they ran to, I will come back for them later. He promised himself, his heart racing as he summoned his staff and prepared for war.

Meanwhile, back at the palace Frigga and Britney were sitting on either side of Emily, talking about the wedding. Emily, now that everything had been put behind them, was very excited about it.

"Who all are you inviting?" Britney's face filled with panic.

"Oh my…I have no clue, Loki and I never discussed it. Is he close to many people here?" She asked Frigga.

"No, he always kept to himself, even as a boy. Thor was his best friend, they played together most of the time. On the occasions that Thor decided he'd rather play with Sif and the others Loki would either play by himself or come ask me to tell him stories. He was always civil and pleasant towards Thor's friends but he didn't really fit in with them and they made it bluntly obvious that they preferred Thor's company. On his side I would say to invite Thor and I and maybe the doctor, she was always kind to him. Other than that, anyone else on the guest list is up to you." Britney mulled this over in her mind a bit before nodding.

"Okay. Then there will be thirty guests; you, Thor, Emily, the doctor, my dad, Tony, Michaela, Bruce, Meredith, my grandparents, Emily's grandparents and parents, Emily's brother's family, and our aunts and uncles, and my brother." Then it suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Damn it, I never took Loki to meet my dad while we were in Midgard." Emily burst into a fit of laughter.

"Oh Britney he's going to piss his pants when he sees who you're marrying. Lord only knows what he thinks has happened to you since all that was on the news." Britney shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, I guess he'll be in for a surprise. I just hope he's happy once the shock wears off." Frigga smiled.

"I'm sure he'll be over the moon, my dear. I'm going to need those thirty addresses, and then we need to make a public announcement so the kingdom won't miss it." Britney froze.

"T-The kingdom?" She asked shakily.

"Well of course my dear, the people of Asgard aren't going to want to miss the first royal wedding since Odin and I were wed. The thirty friends and family will be watching from special seats right outside the balcony, where the wedding will take place, and the kingdom will watch from the streets beneath said balcony. It's tradition." Once this sunk in her mind drifted to Thor's friends that he and Loki left with.

"Wait, I forgot about Thor's friends…shouldn't they be with the thirty instead of out on the streets, I mean, what would Loki prefer?" Frigga thought about it for a moment but was unable to reach a verdict on that one.

"Don't worry about them, I'll consult Loki about it late tonight when he returns." She assured her.

"Thank you. I'll go write those addresses down, I'll be back in a moment." Britney walked off to go get a quill and parchment and this left Frigga with Emily.

"So, have you and Thor talked about marriage?" Emily blushed deeply.

"No ma'am…I don't think we're ready to get married. We weren't even ready to be parents, this just kind of took us by surprise." Frigga laughed in a very maternal, knowing way.

"I know what you mean. Odin likes to think he's prim and proper, but Thor was conceived a week before our wedding. Lucky for us the wedding had been planned by our parents months in advance and as far as anyone knew we conceived him on our wedding night, as it should be. To this day Odin rants that it was our punishment from the other gods that we were unable to conceive again after that, but it's ridiculous because no one knew but us. Everyone seems to have trouble with this sort of thing, as both our parents only had one child despite many attempts. You and Thor are very fortunate that you're having twins, it's not often that Asgardians get two children. Our entire kingdom still thinks Odin and I are lucky, believing Loki is biologically ours." Emily got a very thoughtful look and she tilted her head to the side.

"Why is that? That Asgardians have reproductive problems?" Frigga laughed.

"We don't really, realms are set up this way specifically to keep overpopulation at bay, as we don't want to run out of natural resources. Is this not explained to Midgardian children by their mothers?" Emily shook her head.

"I don't think it quite works that way where I'm from." This seemed to confuse Frigga greatly but before she could say anything Britney had returned.

"What now?" Frigga took the paper from her with all the addresses and grinned.

"That's it a do believe, I have everything else in place. Now the two of you hurry on to bed, alright? You have a full day ahead of you tomorrow, and worry not Britney, Loki will be back long before you wake, I'm sure. This time tomorrow you will be my daughter in law." She sighed happily, pulling her into a hug. She then patted Britney's tummy and waved her off in the direction of her and Loki's room.

"Now go, be gone with you, that baby needs rest." Britney giggled and bid them goodnight, returning to her and Loki's quarters.

Heads were rolling left and right. Thor had wanted his spine back, and he'd surely gotten it. He smashed people's heads to jelly with his hammer, and on numerous occasions he'd ripped entrails out of Jotunn's coming close to seriously wounding his friends or brother.

"Loki! Hold one of them off, I beseech you!" He called, having a Frost Giant attacking him from behind while he was attempting to sever the head of the one beneath him. Loki slit the throat of the giant behind Thor quickly and without much thought, as they'd murdered plenty that night.

"I can't do this anymore you guys, this is becoming genocide, stop it! You know the Jotunn's are few." Sif's annoying voice filled everyone's voice for the thirtieth time that night.

"Do you ever stop complaining?" Loki grumbled, reminding her that this was all her idea.

"I truly hate the self-righteous." Even Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun had to agree that she had become a kill-joy, as they slaughtered the last few Frost Giants in their company.

"This is why you don't invite women to bachelor parties." Volstagg teased, earning a smile from Loki. Once there was utter silence and there didn't seem to be another enemy for miles, Loki snooped around for those children.

"What are you doing brother?" Loki sighed.

"There were these kids…they were orphaned and I wanted to try and help them before they ran off earlier." He didn't want to tell Thor exactly who they were orphaned by, he decided that was his noble deed for the day. Sif rolled her eyes.

"And there goes that manly quality again." Loki ignored her and called the little girl's name as he remembered it.

"Hel! Hel darling, I'm sorry if you are scared, you can come out now, I won't hurt you." He hoped with all his heart they hadn't gone too far when their uncle had shooed them away. Thankfully that wasn't the case, and two blubbering children ran out of hiding towards them.

"O-Our uncle, is he slain?" Her brother asked. Loki reluctantly nodded.

"Yes…but we want to help you, I am truly sorry for what has happened. It was not our intent." Hel walked up to Loki, her tear streaked face pouting up at him.

"You are of our kind, will you be our new daddy? Narfi and I have no one else." She cried, running into Loki's outstretched arms. He picked her up and cradled her against him.

"I must not, I have my own child to take care of." Both Jotunn's began to cry and Loki blanched.

Oh Loki you shouldn't…what will Britney say? But you can't leave them alone and…what if you'd never been adopted?

Loki held the little girl closer.

"Now, now, there is no sense in crying. How about, I take you both home and see what my wife says, yes?" Hel's face lit up and Narfi squealed.

"Sister! Sister! He might adopt us!" It took all Loki had not to smile. He had no idea how this was going to go down but…it looked like there was going to be more than one heir to his hopefully soon-to-be-obtained throne.


	16. The Princess Bride

There was no time for Loki to speak with Britney about the children when he returned home. He had to allow a maid to take care of them, talk to his mother, and then get some sleep. The next morning was to be the greatest day of his life. The morning of their wedding was absolutely beautiful, as it should have been. Britney awoke to Frigga gently nudging her, a bright and radiant smile upon her face. "Lady Britney you must awaken, there is a handsome man waiting for you to be his wife." Britney shot from her bed faster than she'd ever moved in her entire life, thanking the Gods it didn't trigger her morning sickness. She went to go brush out her hair while Frigga went to the wardrobe to fetch her dress. It was as green as Loki's cloak and it was long and flowed into a train. It had a hood with a gold trim, and a gold sash tied it together nicely. When Britney returned from the bathroom she was wearing her emerald green corset Chemise lingerie set that would serve her well on their honey moon, an emerald garter, and she had a golden ribbon in her hand. "My, my! Loki will be pleased with you tonight, won't he? I think Emily and I did a fine job picking that out! Now, come here so I can do your hair." Britney's entire body turned red self-consciously at her words, but she obeyed. Frigga curled Britney's already curly hair into perfect ringlets and wove the golden ribbon in and out of the mass of curls, tying it together at the very bottom and sticking sprigs of small white wild flowers in here and there. She then helped Britney slip on her dress and put her heels on, which were Gucci. "You look so beautiful, I'm very proud to be able to call you my daughter-in-law. You've done so much for my son." She exclaimed, wiping a tear from her eye and pulling Britney into a hug. "Here, take this. Its tradition, don't think much of it, just hand it to a bridesmaid and then bestow it upon Loki after he gives you a set of keys." Britney was more than a little confused but said nothing as an ancient looking sword was placed in her hands. "Oh, how important to you was your copy of "The Hobbit"? It's okay if it's been replaced, yes?" Frigga asked suddenly, and for the first time all morning Britney was filled with dread. "Um…it was only a Barnes and Noble paperback; I suppose it wasn't so important. What has become of it?" She asked nervously, fingering the replica of the Even Star that Loki had given her, which she never took off. Frigga laughed. "Don't look so worried then, you'll think this is romantic! Look." She went and fetched the bouquet and placed it proudly in her hands. The handle of the bouquet was the Sonic Screwdriver of her two favorite Doctor Who doctor's (which she wasn't sure how he knew about, she didn't remember mentioning it) and he had taken the pages out of her Hobbit book and made them into origami roses, dusted with gold spray paint at the tips. "D-Did he make this himself?" Frigga nodded. "He stayed up practically all night. Had a fit washing the paint off his hands this morning." Tears filled Britney's eyes and her soon to be mother-in-law gestured at her frantically. "Now, now, no time for that, you'll ruin your make-up! Are you ready?" She asked walking to the door and beaming brighter than ever. Britney nodded and the door flung open wide. "Surprise!" Britney couldn't believe who was actually standing in the doorway. She ran, nearly dropping her bouquet and flung her arms around the tall, but still shorter than Loki, man. "Daddy!" Her father, balding and fluffy like a teddy-bear, chuckled and squeezed her gently. "I just wish I'd had some warning…how do I know this man is a stand out guy? He didn't even ask me for your hand." Britney laughed nervously. "Loki meant well, I'm sure he would have asked if we'd been near home." Her father scrunched up his nose. "Loki? What kind of a name is that? Sounds kind of Hindu." He eyed her attire and nodded his head once, indicating his mind was set, Loki was Indian. Britney rolled her eyes and locked arms with her father as Frigga was frantically ushering them towards the door. "It's Norse, daddy, and don't worry you'll love him." She decided to leave out the part where once he remembered the events of New York he would hate his guts, but you know, technicalities. Britney's father walked her to the veranda, where Loki's groomsmen and he were awaiting. The groomsmen consisted of Thor, Tony, and Dr. Banner, all holding swords and standing in reverse order; Dr. Banner being first in the row and Loki being last, as was tradition in the Asatru religion. Britney's heart almost gave out at the sight of Loki, looking sharp and dapper in his tuxedo, the happiest look on his face that she'd ever seen there. Frigga pulled Britney and her father back as they were about to walk onto the platform. "No, no. I know you aren't custom to our tradition, but the bridesmaids come first, maid of honor behind them and you at the very back behind her, okay?" She was slightly taken back but nodded as Meredith, Michaela, and Emily stepped in front of her and her father, in that order. When they finally walked out, the groomsmen left the side of Loki and made an arch with their swords for the bridal party to walk under. Britney could tell her father was a little weirded out, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was the absolute magic and electricity that sparked between her and Loki when their eyes met for the first time. It was all Britney could do to stifle a happy sob when she and her father finally reached Loki and the Godhi, the Asatru equivalent of a priest. "We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of Britney and Loki. Others would ask at this time who gives the bride in marriage, but I ask simply if she comes of her own will and if she has her family's blessing. Britney, is it true that you come of your own free will and accord?" Her father squeezed her hand and she smiled. "Yes, it is true." "With whom do you come and whose blessing accompanies you?" It was the maid of honors turn to speak. "She comes with her father and is accompanied by all her family's blessing." Her father then followed Frigga to their seats. Britney in no way knew what was coming, the entire wedding had been planned by Loki and Frigga as Britney slept, so as the event went on she grew more and more excited. Everything she was seeing was so different than any Christian wedding she had ever been to. When the Godhi walked up with a bunch of cords and an athame (blessed dagger), which she eyed curiously and a little distrustfully, Loki reached out and gently rubbed her arm in comfort. "Don't be scared, this is the part of the wedding I think I may enjoy the most. It's the most intimate." Loki was beaming, how could she be scared? She grinned back and nodded, waiting patiently for the ceremony to begin. The Godhi asked for Loki's hand and then sliced it down the middle, in turn asking for Britney's hand. She was certainly not expecting this, as Loki had told her not to fear, but it was also because of that that she decided to trust him and extend her hand. Once she was cut, he smiled and clapped his hands together. "Please join hands." It was then that she realized what he meant by intimate, they were mixing their blood. "As your hands are joined, so are your lives. Holding each other, caressing each other, supporting each other, and loving each other." The Godhi tied the cords around their hands, six to be exact. One for each element (Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit) and one to symbolize the couple. The Godhi then looked at Loki and asked him to repeat after him. "I, Loki, promise you, Britney, that I will be your husband from this day forward. To love and respect you, to support and to hold you, to make you laugh and to be there when you cry, to softly kiss you when you are hurting and to be your companion and your friend on this journey that we will now make together." He then turned to Britney and the vow was repeated. She barely choked out "I, Britney, promise you, Loki" before the waterworks started. Loki laughed gently and wiped her tears with the back of his hand, staring adoringly into her eyes as she pledged herself to him. The entire kingdom was below them but neither knew, as all they could hear and see were each other, and the people in the streets had grown quiet, most crying themselves. Loki then reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of old keys, placing them gingerly in Britney's free hand. The Godhi then undid the ties and Britney was handed the sword from Michaela, which she in turn gave to Loki. He grinned. "Ah! The heirloom you chose was the sword Thor taught me how to fight with, how sentimental." He chuckled sarcastically, but he was obviously very happy. "What are these the keys to?" Loki bent down and kissed her hand and stroked her hair. "To our bedroom and to what will become the nursery." Oh, she could have just kissed him right then and there. "It is tradition, as most of you know, that the groom present the bride with a set of keys to symbolize her receipt of responsibility for the home and finances of the family. In return, the bride is to present the groom with an old family heirloom, such as a sword or ax, symbolizing his responsibility to protect the family. And with that comes the exchange of rings and the marking of the bride." Britney wasn't sure what the marking of the bride would entail, but she was excited about the rings. The ring exchange was what would officially make her his wife, and that's all she'd really wanted for a long time. Very suddenly, Loki had picked Britney up into his arms and the Godhi was placing a hammer in her lap. "We bless the bride with a replica of the infamous hammer Mjolnir, to assure the happy couple fertility in their marriage." Emily snickered and whispered "as if they need it", causing Loki to smirk at her. Thor's thunderous (if you forgive my pun) laughter rang out and he slapped Loki on the back. "I offered the real Mjolnir, but Loki was afraid he'd drop her under its weight." Loki shrugged. "What can I say? I'm too awesome to be bothered with the power of Thor." He teased. The hammer was taken up and Loki rather reluctantly put Britney on her feet once more, and the two little Jotunn children walked out with the rings. Britney looked quickly at Loki and mouthed "who are they?". "We need to talk about that later, but I saved them is all you need to know for now." He said with a wink as she turned an affectionate gaze toward the children. "You look lovely, miss." The little girl whispered and Britney bent down to kiss the top of her head. "Thank you, sweetheart, you look lovely as well." She said with a gesture towards the Jotunn's attire. Loki had dressed them both in the finest Asgardian formal wear. Narfi gave Loki his ring, and Hel gave Britney hers, and the simple silver bands had inscriptions on the inside of one another's initials. Then several large candles were placed beside them and they turned to face one another. Loki softly kissed every one of Britney's fingertips before slipping the ring on her finger. "With this ring, I thee wed." He caressed the side of her face with his right hand, which she nuzzled into while she placed the other ring on his left. "With this ring, I thee wed." The Godhi clapped his hands together happily. "One last event must take place before the union is complete. To remind you that the two lives we unite today were created by others, we ask your parents to come forward." Britney's dad and Frigga both happily walked up, but of course Odin was nowhere to be found. "Have you any words for this couple?" Frigga was first to speak. "This family has been through a lot the last two years, and I know it was hard on you, Loki. It was hard on me too. But I just want you to know that no matter what happens or has happened in the past, you will always be my baby. I love you so much, and I am so happy that you've found a girl that has room enough in her heart to love you as much as I. I wish you both the best of luck and the happiest marriage. You deserve it." Loki's eyes misted over and mirrored his mothers, and he couldn't help but pull her into a tight hug. Then everyone turned their attention to Britney's dad. "Well, sweetie I'm not exactly sure where I am, how I got here, or who you're marrying. I haven't really had time to properly get to know my know extended family, but I promise to do so very soon and love them all as if I've known them my whole life. Um…well I just…you're my little girl, you know that? And if you ever need anything you let me know, you hear? No place is too far, I'll be there." Britney broke down again and full on tackled her dad. The Godhi picked up the first candle. "Loki, this candle represents you. We ask your parents to light your flame as they provided you the spark of life years ago." Frigga lit the candle. "Britney, this candle represents you. We ask your parents to light your flame as they provided you the spark of life years ago." Mr. Erhardt lit the candle. There was one left, the larger candle in the center. "Britney and Loki, this candle represents your union from this day forward. If you are truly ready to merge your lives and your passion, we ask that you light this flame together." Loki took the lighter and Britney placed her hand atop his, and thus the candle was lit. "Now that you have joined yourselves in matrimony, may you strive always to meet this commitment with the same spirit you now exhibit. We all bear witness to this ceremony you have just formed and you may now call yourselves by those old and respected names, husband and wife. Bless this union. You may kiss the bride." Loki's face had the word "finally" written all over it as he dipped her back and kissed her hotly, a little too hotly for a public setting but the people of Asgard hollered and cheered anyway. "All hail the prince and princess" they chanted, getting louder as the kiss went on. Mr. Erhardt finally cleared his throat and they pulled away, Britney's face redder than a beat and her lips slightly bruised. Loki leaned in and whispered "more of that will come tonight Mrs. Laufeyson…much much more."


	17. The Curious Case of Tony Stark

The reception was wonderful and Britney's dad seemed to like Loki, which made Britney immensely happy. She and Loki shared their first dance to the song "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias, and Britney danced with her father to Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide". Britney was properly introduced to the twins, whom she was delighted to keep, and the entire night was a beautiful one. Of course, no matter how beautiful the atmosphere, Loki and Britney wanted nothing more than for their honeymoon to start.

They said their goodbyes and Loki wrapped his arms around Britney, kissing her temple and smirking wider than ever (which is saying a lot).

"Are you ready to find out our honeymoon destination, hmm?" Britney simply let out a happy sigh in response and laced her fingers tightly between his.

"You and I are going to spend a few months on Santorini Island in Greece, which Tony actually offered to pay for. He said he's sending us there so long so he can finish this damn machine by the time we get back and he can finish it in peace. Best thing about this is, it's an untouched location where the condos are so isolated from one another that we would never ever be interrupted…" He trailed off, his hand sliding down her body and giving her goose-bumps.

"You're going to make sure all of Greece knows I'm your wife, aren't you?" She giggled, her face turning the color of a raging fire. Loki smirked.

"Oh darling, did you ever doubt it?"

Meanwhile, Tony and Michaela had just made it back to Stark Tower from the wedding with Dr. Banner and Meredith in tow. Tony was ready to pour drinks, as he hadn't had near enough to get through that wedding, and Michaela was talking to Dr. Banner in the living room while Meredith excused herself to the restroom.

"So what all is going on between you and Tony?" Banner suddenly asked, a thoughtful expression on his face. Michaela's eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean?" He chuckled.

"Things seem a little different between you two lately." Michaela about confessed that she was pregnant, but thought better of it. She wasn't sure how Tony wanted to tell people and when, and he was kind of moody when it came to the pregnancy anyway.

"I don't know what you mean. Excuse me for a moment." Michaela retreated to the kitchen, Banner's gaze making her uncomfortable. Tony was pouring a rather large glass of whiskey (about as tall as a milk glass) when Michaela appeared behind him and snuggled into his back.

"Yes?" He asked with a laugh, turning away from his drink and pulling Michaela to his chest.

"Dr. Banner is creeping me out, I'm tired, and I want you to come to bed with me." Tony rubbed her shoulders gently and laid his forehead against hers.

"Banner is harmless…for the most part. Go on to bed and I'll be in there after I finish my drink and finally talk things out with Bruce about the whole Avengers thing he proposed, okay?" Michaela stuck her lip out in a pout and her hazel eyes began to melt Tony's insides, as she knew they would.

"Aw, sweetheart, come on. Go to bed, seriously, it won't be long before I'll be crawling in beside you. Would it make you feel better if I told you that I'm taking the entire day off tomorrow to paint and baby-proof us a nursery?" Michaela felt like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs and her eyes misted over.

"Oh Tony….but we don't even know the gender." She choked out, holding back the happy tears as best she could as she beamed proudly up at her husband. Tony's eyes twinkled in a way she hadn't seen since they got married.

"Doesn't matter. Our baby is going to be kick-ass one way or the other, and we aren't doing those stupid traditionally pink or blue rooms. I don't need to know the gender to know how to decorate for my kid. Wanna see my ideas?" He asked excitedly, so full of anticipation that she didn't dare say no. He pulled a Loki, bending down and kissing her tummy and then took her by the hand and led her upstairs.

"We'll be right back Dr. B." Banner simply waved them off, becoming interested in something on his phone. There were a lot of rooms in Stark Tower that Tony could have chosen, but he chose the rather large room at the end of the hall on the second floor, because it was just far away enough that the kid felt like it had freedom, but close enough that they could get there quickly if he/she needed them. The room was all ready sort of in progress. Nothing had been done to the walls or floors but there was a white crib in there already with a dark blue blanket and an Ironman plushie in it, and piles of layouts were laying on the floor along with safety precautions such as baby proof locks, socket covers, and those little plastic coverings for door-knobs.

"So I was thinking, red is my favorite color, blue is yours. Tada, nursery colors that aren't gender specific, wasn't brain surgery or anything. I used navy blue though, because baby blue suggests boy and it went better with the red. So I figure, if you look at all these layouts I've got here, red wall with dark blue blanket and mobile and such, and once we figure out the gender we could write the kids name on the wall and add a little touch of gender, like say a freaking butterfly on the wall or something if it's a girl, okay?" Michaela giggled at her husband and rolled her eyes. He had such a roundabout way of doing things.

"I love it Tony, this is so sweet of you. Love the Ironman toy by the way, not narcissistic at all." She teased, squeezing his hand and shooting him a playful gaze. He smirked.

"Yeah well it's not every day a child is born whose dad is wealthy and famous enough, no excuse me, heroic enough, to have his own line of stuffed dolls. I had no choice, it had to happen." He then pulled her in for a kiss and twined his fingers in her long brown hair.

"Now run along and go get some shut-eye, I'll be in there a little later, okay?" Michaela sighed, but nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you later then. I love you." She walked to the door, almost tripping on an askew piece of planning paper on the floor. Tony didn't notice, as he'd turned his attention to the other designs papers scattered about, and she picked it up. It was a decal he had sketched out to have made and put on the wall and a small smile tugged at the corner of Michaela's lips as she read it.

'Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.' What do you know, Tony was more sentimental than she'd originally thought.

Downstairs there was a knock on the door, and when Dr. Banner was sure he was the only one who had heard it (sans Meredith, whom had just returned from the bathroom) he got up to answer it. Hawkeye was at the door looking tired and irritable.

"Ah, Clint, nice of you to drop by. I have spoken to Tony about our plan to reassemble the Avengers. So far the only problem we have is Thor, who seems to have gone back to Asgard for a while. Please, come in." Hawkeye rolled his eyes.

"This is exactly why I didn't bring Natasha, nothing is set in stone and plans are falling to shit. She's going to be pissed off, you know." Banner shrugged his shoulders.

"Not my girlfriend, not my problem." Hawkeye's expression darkened.

"She's not my girlfriend either, not anymore." Bruce decided not to open that can or worms and his eyes wandered to anywhere else in the room he could possibly look.

"Um, yes, well, Thor did tell me not long ago that we had another Loki problem, and this is the whole meaning behind this mission, okay? Relationships don't matter right now." Hawkeye laughed without a trace of humor.

"Yeah, except Thor's relationship with Loki. He might have sounded willing to turn his brother in a few months ago but you said it yourself on the phone the other night, with Loki's play-toy pregnant there is no telling whose side Thor will take." Banner shrugged his shoulders.

"We're plenty strong without Thor, besides, his moral compass has always been enough for him to fight his brother, he has done it before. Some stupid human mistress isn't going to change that. Thor is going to help us stop Loki from his second attack, we're going to make sure S.H.I.E.L.D is the one who imprisons him this time, and as for the girl, I'm sure the Asgardians will deal with the Satan Spawn, okay? That's not our problem." There was an uncomfortable silence for a while before anyone spoke again.

"Well, I sure hope you're right. Where are Tony and Michaela?" Banner was about to answer when Tony walked back down the stairs.

"She is in bed and I'm going back for my whiskey." His tone was quipped, as he didn't exactly get along with Clint for reasons neither of them were quite sure of. Clint rolled his eyes and gazed for a while at the stairs.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Banner and Meredith just kind of ignored him and he descended the staircase without anyone thinking twice about it. Hawkeye peeked into the first bedroom on the right hand side of the long corridor, and just his luck it was the right room. He could see Michaela's figure lying on the bed, gently rising and falling with each breath she took. He'd always thought she was beautiful, and Natasha's leaving him had him so distraught…not even he knew what he was really doing. He crawled into bed with her after rummaging around in some drawers and finding a blindfold, slipping it over her eyes. Michaela smiled.

"That was quicker than I expected, Tony. Since you blindfolded me, I'm assuming you want to use the flogger again? Or how about the riding crop? You know how much I love that." She purred, having craved her husband's touch all day. Hawkeye said nothing, simply moving his hands down to her thighs and then moving them up her nightgown.

"Tony? Have you been moisturizing your hands feel weird…" Again, nothing was said as her underwear was quickly slid down. He slipped one finger in and something just didn't feel right to her.

"Come on, talk to me, you're freaking me out." She tried to push his hand away but he persisted.

"Stop!' Michaela screamed and dug her nails deep into his face and then tore her blindfold off. It didn't take long for her screams to travel downstairs, her pleas for her husband as Clint climbed on top of her.

"You don't understand how much I need this, Natasha left me for a woman! Just let this happen." He was attempting to push into her when Tony and Banner ran into the room. No words were spoken. Tony didn't have anything to express the shear rage he was feeling, didn't want to tell how his vision was filled with cold blooded murder. He grabbed Hawkeye by the neck and pulled him quickly off of his wife, slamming him into the wall. Swift blows came to Clint's face in bouts of hundreds per minute, Tony ramming all of his anger into the jabs, mangling his fellow Avengers face beyond recognition. A few knees to the nuts later and he was kicking him in the stomach and screaming for JARVIS.

"My suit JARVIS, my suit! Now!" There was hesitation from the computer system as Tony's knuckles reunited with Hawkeye's nose.

"Master Stark, I believe that would be over—" He need not finish that sentence as Clint began coughing up blood and Tony let him go.

"Get out. Curl up in a nearby alley and die, before I decide to finish you off myself." Hawkeye scrambled for the bedroom door and headed downstairs as best he could while Bruce approached Tony.

"Now I know she's your wife but was that really—" Tony whirled around and smashed his fist into Bruce's eye, his blood still on fire.

"Don't you even. I know you put him up to it, Michaela told me you were freaking her out earlier." Bruce's hands flew up to his left eye and he stammered a bit.

"Freaking her out? All I did was ask her what was going on between the two of—" Tony clocked him again.

"And how was that any of your business?!" He roared, cornering him and grabbing hold of his throat.

"Stark, St-Stark let's be rational about this, okay? While it's true that it takes a lot more to provoke me these days, if you keep restricting my airway you're not going to like the results." Tony wasn't listening. All he could think about was the life that was growing inside of his wife, life they created together. His wife's body was his child's home, and that home had just been defiled. It wasn't until he couldn't hear Banner's begs anymore and it felt like the neck in his hand was convulsing did Tony finally snap out of it. Dr. Banner was trying to fight it and that bought Tony some time, he thought. He frantically gestured for Michaela, who was at his side in a matter of seconds, and he took her face in his hands.

"Listen to me, angel, I want you to get out of here as quickly as you can, okay? Call out to JARVIS once you reach the foyer, he'll know what to do, you'll be safe. Go!" Michaela began to run for the door when all of a sudden a very large very green hand coiled around her waist and lifted her into the air.

"No! Please!" Tony screamed, attempting to grab hold of the Hulk's arm. The Hulk let out a roar loud enough to shatter glass and his grip on Michaela tightened greatly, a few of her ribs audibly cracking. By the time he realized it was Tony he should be mad at, Michaela had passed out, and Hulk carelessly tossed her aside, her body flying into a plate-glass window and toppling out to fall to what Tony assumed would be her death.

"JARVIS!" He screeched, praying that was all that the computer needed to understand what he was asking. His Ironman suit quickly flew out the broken window and went after Michaela, leaving Tony to worry about the very big problem he'd just created.

Meanwhile, Loki and Britney had departed with Emily and Thor back to New York so that they could catch their flight to Greece. Frigga had promised that all their wedding presents would go straight to Loki's room and everything in that room would be sealed off from Odin, and she offered to watch the twins, so they had no worries. Hugs went around and congratulations were awarded, tears shed, the usual for honeymoon departure.

"Brother, you better take care of those babies while I'm gone, you hear me? Emily will tell me when I get back if you've done a ruddy job." Loki said with a wink as it rang through the Airport that it was about time for their flight to board. Thor rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure. You take care of your little one as well, and…how do they say it here when one is departing? May the odds be ever in your favor?" Britney and Emily burst into laughter.

"Em, you have had him watching way to many movies." Emily rolled her eyes.

"Yeah well it's hard not to when you meet a man who hasn't seen any!" Britney giggled and snuggled into Loki's arm, smiling cheerily at Thor.

"How about have a safe trip?" Thor nodded eagerly.

"Thank you! We shall indeed return safely to the apartment, I have taken care of that teacher of yours." Thor had missed the idea entirely, but nobody corrected him as the final warning for the flight sounded.

"Bye!" Loki and Britney called out simultaneously as they picked up their bags and ran to the terminal. Emily sighed and looked up at Thor from under her eyelashes.

"Thorlax, I'm scared to go back to the apartment." Emily whined, which she'd been doing more of since she'd gotten pregnant. She also wasn't normally big on pet names and it's a good thing too, Britney would have peed if she'd heard Emily mesh Thor's name with the Pokemon Snorlax. He was kind of big and cuddly like a Snorlax. Thor didn't understand the reference though, but of course he thought it was cute and that he should reciprocate.

"It's alright, Emilemon, I put the fear of a god in him. Besides, you aren't going back to school, and I'm going to be here to protect you." Emily almost gagged.

"Don't call me that, and you can't tell me whether or not I am going back to school." Thor sighed.

"I just did. I'm sorry, and I do not wish to anger you but I must put my foot down. My children are at risk here. Now never mind about that, we need to go see Tony." Emily sighed but decided not to argue.

"And why do we need to see Stark?" Thor smiled.

"Because you and Michaela need to get better acquainted now that she and Britney are friends and I thought you might want in on some little secrets." Emily raised her eye brows and a smirk crept on to her face.

"Secrets?" Thor's smile widened but he didn't say anything, allowing the anticipation to build. It was time for Thor to set some things right with the Avengers and time for Emily to realize there was a whole lot more to being his girlfriend than what she'd already experienced. Who knows, maybe he'd even let her try and pick up Mjolnir.

Thor had decided it was time to let Tony and the others know if they had any chance of him helping them with the Loki situation, and he also really needed to know what they were planning to do to Loki and Britney before he decided what he was and wasn't doing about this situation. However, he unfortunately didn't know about the unfortunate events taking place at Stark Tower and how much danger he was potentially putting his girlfriend in.

Tony had managed to scramble to the stairs before a rather large hand decided to help him a bit, his body tumbling harshly for what seemed like forever before his body finally hit the floor. He bolted for the door, aiming to run out to the back of the house to make sure his armor had reached his wife in time. When the door swung open Thor and Emily were already approaching and he frantically waved his arms in the air.

"Go away! Go, get out of here now!" It was then that hulk busted out of the tower, smashing the mainframe of the door with his hands as Tony whined under his breath about tower destroyers. He raced to the back of the house quickly, going mad with fear. He didn't care what the hulk did to him, didn't care if he died or was grievously maimed, hell, he could even care less if his entire house was demolished again. All he needed to know was that Michaela and their baby were alright.

He finally got a visual on Michaela, suit wrapped all the way around her, and he silently thanked God. That was all he had time to do before there was monstrous breathing down his neck and he knew his time was up. Tony turned around to face the hulk like a man, chest puffed out and face full of as much confidence as it would be if he was in his suit. If he were to die, he would do it proudly and in a way that would leave his family with honor. Too bad his extra suits weren't functioning right now, he thought with an ironic chuckle to himself, stumbling backward and onto his back as the hulk neared him. He was wondering why he hadn't made a move yet, why he was still allowing him to live. It seemed the screams of Thor and Emily were distracting Hulk, which Tony didn't appreciate. If he was going to die he wanted it over with. Thor's hammer was thrown and bounced right back off of Hulk's skin, a roar like none other ripping from his chest. It was enough to make the green guy begin to turn around, but Tony wasn't going to let him hurt another woman, Thor had been an idiot to gain the monsters attention with his girlfriend present.

"Hey, dickweed, leave them alone, I'm the one that pissed you off." Tony grumbled, lifting his leg and managing a kick at Hulk. Hulk picked Tony's entire face up with one of his hands, Tony's body dangling like it was a mere piece of string.

Well at least I can say I kept them safe. I love you, Michaela, and you too little…oh what would we have called you, I wonder? Isen for a boy and Neva for a girl? Yeah, I like that. Tony was so deep in thought that he hardly noticed the commotion that was going on around him.

Emily had ran to Hulk, despite the warnings from a distraught Thor. Her arms were wrapped around one of his as best they could be, and she was dangling there for dear life.

"Come one Bruce, Tony is your friend. I know you're in there, and I know that you don't want to hurt him either, Hulk. I don't know what he did, but I do know that you're going to regret this later. Come on, put the man down, his lady is injured. Think if it were Meredith." Emily's voice was soothing and she was gently caressing his arm, grinning from ear to ear as Hulk slowly started to release his grip on Tony. Tony's body hit the ground with a thud and Hulk turned his attention to the petite woman clinging to him, bending down so that her feet could touch the floor.

"E-Em-il-y. Em-il-y frag-ile, not in dang-er any-more." He sat down in the grass and Emily's mouth about hit the floor at how docile and strangely sweet he was being. She hesitantly approached him, placing her tiny-looking hand in one of his massive ones.

"Thank you." Hulk simply shot her a look and grumbled inaudibly a bit, a ghost of a smile gracing his big green lips. He began to shrink back into Dr. Banner, much to Emily's disappointment and Thor's relief as he ran to her.

"Maiden! You could have died!" He bellowed, more anger seeping out towards her than he'd ever shown before. While Emily and Thor exploded into an argument on how she put herself and their children in danger and whether or not Tony was worth that, Tony found the strength to get up and run to Michaela.

"Michaela, angel, are you alright? Say something, anything, baby please!" He shouted, tearing away the Ironman armor piece by piece until her broken and bruised body was able to be recovered. She said nothing and he picked her up out of the suit and cradled her in his arms.

"Thor, we need to get to a hospital quickly, she's still breathing but barely." Tony barked, trying to sound calm and collected, as if he had everything under control. She wasn't doing well, he was so scared she was dying in his arms. She was scratched and bleeding all over the place, over eighty percent of her body a purple-ish blue color. Thor stopped bickering with Emily long enough to call Heimdall and request access to the bifrost.

"Thor what are you doing? She needs a hospital not a trip to see your family!" Meredith interjected.

"She needs a doctor now, she'll die before we make it the nearest hospital here, and what would our story be, exactly? That's what I thought, now come on." Thor knew he was being rude, but too many things were happening so quickly, he didn't have time to assess his manners right now and his nerves were already fried from earlier. They were all in Asgard in a matter of moments and Thor helped Tony push passed people and obstacles to get to the hospital chambers as quickly as possible.

"Master Thor, I'm seeing an awful lot of you lately…" The doctor commented in concern. It seemed like ever since Loki came back more and more people Thor cared about needed medical care. They got Michaela hooked up to a ventilator and ultrasound machine, an IV drip getting inserted next and a heart monitor being hooked to one of her fingers. Tony was pacing back and forth and Emily and Thor were trying to explain to Banner what all had happened. The tension in the room was absolutely awful, and even the doctor was itching to remove herself from this situation.

"I think I'm going to have to ask everyone but Mr. Stark to leave the room." The doctor finally said after a long hard silence, raising the fear level in the room to a maximum level. Once they were alone, Tony approached her with a shattered expression.

"I know you didn't want us to be alone for no reason, what's the damage, Doc?" The doctor looked at the floor for a moment before meeting Tony's gaze with remorseful eyes.

"She's hemorrhaging." Tony swallowed hard and his eyes screwed shut in an attempt to not cry. Tony Stark doesn't cry.

"H-Hemorrhaging where? Can you stop it?" In all this particular doctor's years working at the palace, there had never been an issue with an unborn child she hadn't been able to fix—until now. The doctor burst into tears and shook her head sadly.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Stark. She's hemorrhaging from within her uterus, that's where the blood is coming from. I think she's miscarrying, sir." Tony's face reddened and he gripped the lady by the shoulders, panic consuming him and guilt written all over his face.

"You can stop it though, can't you? You caught it early…there…there has to be a way!" His eyes bore into hers, searching for any and all signs that there was some hope. He shook her hard, his body beginning to tremble.

"Answer me!" The doctor flinched.

"I can stop her cervix from dilating to expel the baby from her body, but it would be a moot point, the baby's heart isn't beating anymore. It's been dead for about an hour now." She sobbed, attempting to dry her eyes while Tony still had a grip on her shoulders. His hands dropped away and every ounce of light and life in his eyes and face dropped with them. His skin paled, his now dull brown eyes were leaking the tears he'd promised he wouldn't cry, and he found himself staring at the ultrasound.

"No, no…I've only known for two days, just two. I've known my child for two fucking days! I'll be damned if it's gone! Pregnancy begins technically two entire weeks before conception…so she's six weeks pregnant, our baby has a heartbeat. That begins at week five. I want to hear it." The doctor's eyebrows knitted together.

"Have you misheard me? I said the baby's heart stop—" Tony's expression grew grave and his tone suggested he was moments from snapping as he cut her off.

"I want to hear." The doctor quickly pulled her stethoscope from around her neck, handing it to Tony.

"You see that little ball in the picture on the ultrasound? It's the dark spot the size of a pomegranate seed just above her belly button? That's the baby, press there." Tony pressed gentler than he'd ever touched anything in his life. He moved the instrument around in little circles praying to hear anything, anything at all, but there was silence. Tony was about to throw up, his stomach twisted and his heart felt as if it were shriveling and dying. He was about to storm out of the room when his favorite voice in the entire world stopped him dead in his tracks.

"T-Tony…what h-happened?" Michaela was so frail sounding, so small and innocent. How was he supposed to tell her this? He turned to face her, flinching as she grabbed her midsection and groaned.

"Ouch…God, I shouldn't be cramping like this. Is that normal in pregnancy?" She asked the doctor, becoming alarmed when there was hesitation.

"I think you need to talk to your husband. I'm not the one who should say, sweetie." Michaela's eyes filled with tears.

"What is she talking about, Tony?" Tony took a deep breath and tried to steady his breathing, turning to the Doctor and scratching the back of his head.

"Could you um…could you give us some time alone?" The doctor nodded and walked up to Tony, whispering something in his ear before gingerly patting him on the shoulder and exiting the room. Tony pulled a chair up to Michaela's bedside and took a seat, reaching for her hand and lacing their fingers together before pulling it up to his lips for a tender kiss.

"Angel, I have some pretty bad news." Michaela was about to ask what when another terrible cramp ripped through her. This time she cried out a little bit, a few tears trickling down her cheeks.

"There's something wrong with our baby isn't there? These are worse than just cramps Tony these are what I'd imagine—" She choked up, unable to finish that sentence or the horrible train of thought her mind was venturing on.

"Contractions to feel like? That's what they are. Our baby died a few hours ago, sweetheart. You're miscarrying right now." Michaela's eyes began to lose their shine and mirror Tony's own, which only furthered the pain strangling his heart.

"No, that can't be possible, you don't just star miscarrying…you either miscarry or you don't, if they caught it early can't they stop it?" A loose sob finally broke out of Tony's throat, the glue holding him together was dissolving as he watched her suffer.

"I'm so sorry, I already asked that question, she said there was nothing we could do." He kissed her temple and ran his fingers through her hair in an attempt at soothing her cries.

"What she whispered to me earlier…she said we had a choice. The cramps are your body trying to get rid of the baby naturally. She said we could let it happen and deliver our baby as we would have anyway or that she could surgically remove it for us if we said so in time." Michaela shook her head frantically.

"No, no, they aren't touching our child! I am it's mother, I will give birth to it, it's what's right." Tony nodded, squeezing her hand and allowing another sob to escape.

"Okay, I'll be here baby. We'll have him, hold him, bury him…we'll treat him the way our son would deserve to be treated. I don't care how tiny he is when he's born." A bittersweet laugh rang out through Michaela's tears and she almost smiled.

"Our son? How do you know it wasn't a girl?" Tony shrugged.

"Just what I'm going with." Another heavy cramp hit and she bit her lip hard, a little blood dribbling down her chin as she reached up to pet the side of Tony's face.

"I love you." Tony's thumb gently wiped the blood away and he nuzzled into her hand.

"I love you too." Michaela then began to feel a little bit of pressure around her pelvis and she grabbed Tony quickly.

"Go down there, I think he's coming." Tony walked to the end of Michaela's hospital bed and tried so hard not to flinch at all the blood his wife had been losing while they were talking. She'd bled through the mats the doctor had put there and he was pretty sure the bed was ruined. A lighter cramp came over her, the last one, and unlike birth there was no pushing involved; all of a sudden it all just gushed out. It was a bloody mess, and all it looked like to Tony was a mass of tissue at first, but for his baby he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He very carefully pushed away what seemed to him to be the placenta and followed a little string to a water-filled sac the size of a golf ball. Inside it was a fetus the size of a pomegranate seed. Tony scooped him up, hands shaking, and carried him to Michaela. The hysterics she flew into once he was in her hand was inevitable.

"Oh my god. Tony he had all his fingers and toes, their so small…but their there…do you see? This isn't…this isn't happening." Tony wrapped his arms around her as best he could, rubbing her and shushing her, promising her everything would be okay. But it wasn't. Tony no longer had any hope for the future, everything good about the world felt dead to him. He called for the doctor and asked for a birth certificate.

"Do you want me to weigh and measure him?" The doctor asked quietly, realizing they wanted this to be treated like any other birth. Tony nodded silently, still holding and caressing his wife as she calmed a little.

"What do you want to call him?" She whispered, her eyes having never left his tiny little face.

"I want him to have a meaningful name, one he'd be proud of. One that would always remind him of who he was. I like Isen. Isen Alexander. It means Iron Defender of Man." Michaela sniffled.

"Just like his daddy." The doctor then walked over and asked to see Isen, so she could weigh him, and Tony filled out the rest of the certificate while they waited. Isen Alexander Stark, born at 2:09 AM on February twenty-fifth. They both signed it and Tony was handed a washcloth to start cleaning Michaela up.

"He weighs four ounces and he's 0.25 inches long." Tony added that to the certificate and the doctor took the liberty of filling out the death certificate herself, as not to trouble the already distraught couple. Michaela blew the little baby a kiss before Tony gently wrapped him in a paper towel and laid him in a shoe box the doctor went and retrieved from her sleeping quarters.

"I'll make a call to have a small casket flown in tomorrow morning." Tony promised as he put the lid on the box.

"Tony, they don't make caskets that small." Michaela reasoned, watching in worry as Tony almost visibly built walls around his heart.

"They do now. I'm not treating my firstborn like a dead pet. He gets a casket, we'll bury him tomorrow afternoon." The doctor laid all the paper work aside and took the box from Tony.

"Why don't we put Isen on the table for tonight, and I'll pull a cot up next to your wife for you to sleep on, hmm? Michaela needs to stay overnight to make sure those ribs set well and that she won't bleed anymore, alright?" Tony didn't say anything, just nodded and stared intently at the box while the doctor was gone. Six weeks and three days he didn't know he had a son, didn't know to love him or cherish that precious time. Two days he did, and now it was all over. His heart would be buried with that baby, he believed that with all he was. Tony only had room for so much pain, and right now, this seemed like the final nail in his coffin. There was nothing of him left.


	18. Copper and Coping Skills

Greece was beautiful. When Tony said he was sending them off for a few months he wasn't kidding, it had been two whole months and they still had a week left of their honeymoon. Tony really had wanted them gone to finish that machine. Loki was trying relentlessly to get Britney into the pool one last time before they left, but since she'd begun to finally show now that she was at fifteen weeks pregnant, she refused.

"Loki I'm not putting that bikini back on…I've gotten—" Loki pursed his lips and his expression alone cut her off.

"If you say fat I will spank you." Britney's lips curled into a pout and Loki just couldn't help himself.

"Damn you, you know what that face does to me." He whined, pulling her into a light kiss. He sat a hand on her stomach, gleaming with pride that she'd gotten big enough that it could support his hand without aid. It was still a tiny bump though, as she was only a few months along.

"Why don't you want to show off your belly? It's so perfect, our child is growing there, and it's proof that you're mine." Britney snorted.

"That's the only reason you want to show it off, you want all the men around here to see that you've taken me." Loki's face shown with playful guilt and Britney giggled.

"I knew it! They can tell I'm yours with my shirt on thanks, and I kind of have a ring on my finger if you hadn't noticed." She retorted with a roll of her eyes and a smirk on her face. Loki only grew more and more smug and his lips found their way to her neck.

"Oh I remember, putting that ring on your finger was the second greatest day of my life, the first being the day I found out we were expecting." Britney blushed deeply and pulled his lips back to hers chastely.

"Okay, you won me over; I'll go put my bathing suit on." Loki's face brightened and he flashed a thousand watt smile.

"That's my girl!"

A few moments later Britney was in her bathing suit, but she was a little more than curious as she examined her belly carefully in the bathroom mirror.

"Hey Loki, is this normal?" She asked, walking out of the bathroom and up to her husband, who was already in his dark green swim trunks. Loki's eyebrows knitted together and his fingers traced the circular pattern that seemed to have begun forming on her stomach.

"This looks…" Britney cut him off, images of Michaela flooding her mind.

"Like the markings on the skin of a Frost Giant?" Loki's mouth hung slightly agape and confusion washed over his features.

"Michaela is half Jotunn; I've seen what she looks like." She explained quickly. This seemed to surprise Loki and he still was having a hard time forming words.

"U-Um…what did you…what did you think?" He asked insecurely, his eyes clouding with worry and seeming to prepare for hurt.

"I thought she was beautiful. She was scared Tony would think she was ugly…so she asked me if I'd seen you're true form and I said no, so she showed me hers to kind of simulate how Tony might react." Loki was quiet for a moment, his eyes plastered to the floor.

"Do you want to see? I've never…I mean, I did show Thor and his friends once in battle but it was kind of an accident and they were so busy they hardly noticed…I would have showed you but…I just…it's hard…" He was fumbling and stammering and Britney felt so awful that he was this ashamed of how he really looked. She reached up and gently stroked his cheek.

"It's okay, Loki. You don't have to hide from me." Loki met her eyes and he warmed at the acceptance and love he saw in them, a small smile tugging at his lips as he allowed his skin to change color. It slowly crept up his body and Britney watched in awe as it met his eyes and they transformed into a fascinating shade of scarlet. Her hand never left his face, and she slid it off his cheek and into his hair, pulling their foreheads together.

"You have no reason to be ashamed. You're such a beautiful man." Loki nuzzled into her and cupped her belly with one hand, tracing the markings again with the other.

"I love you so much. These markings aren't formed fully yet, I think they're growing as the baby does…but look, they look like they're the beginnings of this mark over here." He said, pointing to his own stomach. On his side there were markings curving in to wrap around his waist. Britney smiled, tears coming to her eyes as she copied Loki's gesture and traced the lines on his stomach with her fingertips.

"I love you too." She whispered, getting goose bumps as Loki lifted her chin with his finger.

"It pleases you?" Britney blushed from her neck up and nodded.

"It's just another way you've branded me as yours…and as much as I hate to admit it, I love it when you claim me. Makes me feel wanted." Loki grinned.

"Good, you won't mind people seeing it then, come on, let's go!" He said excitedly.

They walked to the pool hand in hand after Loki reverted back to his Asgardian-looking form. They were quite the pair, the two of them. A six foot two man as pale as snow with stark raven hair and bright green eyes holding hands with an equally pale blonde pregnant woman with dark eyes that was exactly a foot shorter than him. Their bathing suits matched, and they thought that's what people must be staring at as they walked by, not really ever realizing that they looked kind of funny together. It didn't matter what they looked like, they were so perfect together for each other. Never had a man and a woman had that much chemistry, nor had a couples souls ever been so bound. They went to the indoor pool because it was heated, and even in Greece it was still a pretty cool winter. Britney shivered as she immersed herself in the water. It was warm in the room, but the water was cold, Loki quickly jumping in after her and wrapping his arms around her.

"Do you trust a Frost Giant to keep you warm?" He teased, nipping at her neck playfully. Britney giggled and leaned back on him, nuzzling into his neck.

"I trust you with everything my dear, but especially keeping me warm." Loki liked this game, visions of 'keeping her warm' filling his mind. He sighed and rubbed her small bump, enjoying the soothing temperature of the water.

"I know it's a little chilly for you my love, but I wish I could share with you how amazing this water feels to a Jotunn. My skin feels great." Britney laughed.

"I was wondering why you'd grown fond of the pool. And here I thought you just liked seeing me in a bathing suit." Loki smirked and spun her around, leaning in for a scorching kiss.

"Don't think for one moment that your skimpy little bikini isn't a good deal of the reason we're out here. The cold is only half my fun." He purred, his eyes scanning her adoringly, drinking in her every feature. Loki's hands glided over Britney's body, his eyes staring into hers, unable to fathom the love glowing in them.

"Do you really not mind the marks on your stomach? I've never seen someone look at a Frost Giant the way you look at me." He asked softly, the insecurity that had met his eyes earlier bleeding into his voice. Britney took his face into her hands, caressing him with her thumbs.

"Loki, I love you. I don't care where you're from, baby, you're the greatest person I've ever know. That's why I don't mind the marks…your blood is of Jotunheim, so is our child's. The marks make me feel like I'm part of that." Loki's eyes were so soft they were almost liquid looking and her gripped her hands in his, pulling them to his lips.

"I love you so much." She smirked.

"Even though I'm Midgardian?" Loki rolled his eyes at her and rubbed their noses together.

"You may be of Midgard, but you are not Midgardian. We are the prince and princess of Asgard; we will always be Asgardian, no matter what. It's our true place." They leaned in for a chaste kiss as three girls swam up around Loki. It wasn't until they pulled away that Loki's eye caught one of them and he shot her a look.

"Do you need something?"Britney turned her head and eyed the girls, stifling the growl that rose in her throat at the way they were looking at her husband.

"We were just wondering, you know, if you wanted a change of scenery. We are having a party in our hotel room; a hot guy like you would make a nice addition." The bubbly blonde twirled her hair around her finger as the flirtatious look she was sending Loki was nearly making him gag.

"No thanks." His voice was harsh and he petted Britney's stomach heavily, in an attempt to make a point.

"Aw come on, handsome. You need a beautiful girl in your life." She trailed her finger down his chest and this time the hiss that exploded from Britney couldn't be contained. If looks could kill, Loki knew all three girls would be floating to the deep end in a matter of seconds.

"I'm sorry; I don't think he wants to mingle with a bunch of drunk sluts, no matter how pretty you think you are." Loki couldn't help the proud beam breaking out on his face. The girl making the advances scoffed and put her hands on her hips.

"Do you think this is funny? That little heifer just called us—" Loki cut her off, using that cold dark laugh that frightened Britney most, no matter how attractive she found it.

"Are you really self conceited enough to think I care anything for you at a moment's meeting? I have new for you, Blondie; I don't let many people into my heart, especially not some bleach-blonde bimbo such as yourself. I think it's slightly humorous that you have the audacity to flirt with a happily married man and call his wife a heifer, that's all. Why would I go out with a plastic piece of trash like you when I married the most beautiful women in the nine realms? She's not fat, she's pregnant, and if you don't respect the beauty of her body stretching to accommodate my child then I suggest you get out of my face before I rip your perky little boobs off." They quickly swam off, tears in their eyes, and Loki gently rubbed Britney's arms.

"You okay?" Britney shrugged.

"I'm fine." Loki kissed the top of her head and ran his fingers through her golden locks.

"We're dying your hair. As much as I love it, I don't like the negative association." Britney nodded.

"Okay, but I want you to pick it out; you have to like it as much as you liked the blonde." Loki grinned smugly.

"I'm glad you feel that way, I was going to pick it out anyway." Britney giggled and was about to retort when her eyes locked with that blonde girl, who was now on the other side of the pool. She quickly pulled Loki into a deep, passionate kiss. Her fingers threaded into his hair and she tugged hard.

"Mine." Loki snorted, knowing full well what was going on.

"Yes, darling, yours." His eyes sparkled and his laugh was back to being melodious and sweet. He leaned up and nibbled on her ear.

"It's kind of hot seeing you jealous." Britney had been getting hornier and hornier the more her pregnancy progressed and she purred.

"Want to go back to the bedroom and show me how hot?" Her words went straight to his dick and he moaned.

"Of course, fair one." He bit her neck hard and she giggled, flashing her big brown doe eyes at him and reaching her arms around his neck.

"Carry me?" He laughed and nuzzled into her face.

"Thought you'd never ask! Now come, we have important business to tend too."

When they got to the room, however, Britney had a lot of voice mails that really shouldn't have gone unchecked.

Britney had been made by Loki to turn her phone off (the new one he'd just gotten her right before they left as a replacement for the one he threw at a tree), wanting one hundred percent of her attention. However, after making love for several hours Britney was suddenly struck with worry. They were still naked, wrapped in their sheets and curled in to one another, Loki rubbing her back lovingly. She looked up finally from where her head was buried in his chest and sighed.

"Loki?" Loki was so relaxed that he almost didn't want to answer; this entire honeymoon had been the most he'd ever been allowed to rest in his life.

"Hmm?" She was quiet for a moment before answering, enjoying seeing her husband like this, so serene.

"I think I need to call my father. I just realized we haven't even told him I'm pregnant, and we should probably stop and see him on the way home, or he'll be mad." Loki let out a whine.

"You can't call him when we get back? The plane doesn't stop on the way home anyway, baby, it goes straight to New York. Can't your dad just come see us instead?" Britney shrugged.

"I think he had an issue coping the last time he saw our home. I don't think he understands the bifrost very well." Loki's heart clinched when he realized what she was saying. He sat up and a ghost of a smile was threatening his dumbfounded expression. When she said home she wasn't referring to New York, she was talking about Asgard.

"What is it?" She asked, a smile of her own forming as she watched the joy spread out on his face.

"When you said home I thought you meant the apartment you share with Emily…I didn't realize you considered Asgard home." Britney laughed.

"Of course I consider it home, you were raised there, your mother lives there, our child is to be born there. Asgard is everything a home should be, our family is there." Loki kissed her gently, pouring love from his own body into hers.

"I'm glad you think so. I expect us to raise our child there, after I conquer this realm. I will rule this realm and Asgard both, I mean after all, if I instill enough fear into these pathetic humans they will obey me even as I sit in another realm. I have Heimdall to watch them and be sure. I will make it clear that I see them when they cannot see me, and if they do not obey my law I will send for them to be dealt with. That way we don't have to live here, but when we do come down to oversee things we can visit your family. The whole thing is a win-win situation." He grinned, proud of himself, but his words were ringing in Britney's ears. Her head suddenly ached and she clutched it with one hand, bearing down on Loki's arm with the other. So many images were filling her brain, images of destruction and groups of people kneeling before Loki, images of piles and piles of news articles she forgot she'd written, and more than Loki's current words were to be heard inside her head.

Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy, in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.

"Britney? Britney darling, please tell me you're alright?" She nodded and rubbed her temples.

"Yeah I'm fine…but seeing my dad might be an issue now. I think Tony finished that machine." Loki's body went taut, even though this was something he'd so desperately wanted. His mind drifted back to the night he left her, after Thor had pointed it out that he may not wish for Britney to remember. Loki very cautiously reached out and caressed her face.

"Does this…change anything between us?" Britney was quiet for a moment longer than she should have been and Loki began to panic. His eyes filled with a deep sadness and his fingers found their way to her hair, absentmindedly stroking it while he continued to stare intently at her face.

"Baby you promised…you promised it wouldn't." His voice nearly cracked, fear of losing her eating at him. She turned to him, tears in her eyes, and fell into his arms.

"It doesn't, of course it doesn't! I just…I feel so awful." Tears were streaking down her face and on to his chest as he held her tightly, knowing this must be due to her hormones.

"Why do you feel awful, my love? I'm the one that destroyed New York; you had no part in that. Or is it that you've helped me on the next attack?" Britney shook her head.

"No, it's not that. It's just that…back when all that was happening I didn't know you. Not the real you, all I saw was the destruction and chaos. The lives ended, The Avengers assembling. I'm a journalist, Loki, what do you think I did? I wrote the most terrible things about you…called you a terrorist, condemned you. I think in one article I even called you the scum of the Gods…and people ate it up too. Everyone was so angry and so confused and we were terrified. But I…I didn't know. I didn't know what you'd been through, everything that you've lost. Everything that you deserve." Loki breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"It's okay, I know you didn't know, and I know you must've been scared. The only thing I regret about my attack on your realm is anything I may have done to harm you." Britney shook her head.

"No, I was fine. I should have died, honestly, I was constantly looking to be in on what you and Thor were doing, always trying to get closer to the story. Almost did die a few times, but I always managed to be okay." Loki took her hand and kissed it, smiling very gently at her.

"That's because you're strong." They were still and quiet for a long while, simply staring into one another's eyes. Neither one of them was really quite sure where this left them. Britney was the first to break the silence.

"You killed people. Lots of people. They were innocent, most, I'd bet, too." Loki nodded.

"Yeah, I killed a great deal. It really wasn't my intent…but Midgardians don't listen, they kept resisting. Then when I finally got them under control my brother and the rest of those oafs got in the way and I had to call my Chitauri Army, which I didn't want to do necessarily, they had just been plan B. Most of the people I killed I killed fighting off the Avengers. Unfortunately I never got to make it up to this realm, as their benevolent god, because I lost. But I won't lose this time…that is, if you still want to help me. I swear, I'll try hard not to kill any unnecessary civilians. I don't want you to think me to be the monster I thought I was until I met you. The Jotunn monster that hides under the beds of children…the freak. I'll try to be a better man, for you, for the baby. I promise you this." Britney put her finger to his lips and shushed him softly.

"You aren't a monster; I could never think that, not after everything we've been through together. I know better, and I know you're trying to be better, and that's okay. I never asked you to change for me, and I love you as you are, I don't want you to change. Do I condone the loss of innocent life, no I don't. But I also understand why you did what you did. It wasn't right, it wasn't good, but sometimes we don't always see our actions as wrong until it's too late. You had good intentions and rights to a throne that you were unfairly knocked off of. You deserve to be king more than Odin and Thor, and I know you could do this realm good better than any president ever has, and I want to be part of that. I will help you as long as I am able and if people are hurt in the process so be it. We won't kill who we don't have too, like you said, and soon everything will be made right. We can fix the world, I know if anyone can bring peace to Midgard it's you. Humans slaughter each other in droves, can't be any worse than what we'd do to end said slaughter for good, right?" Loki's face shone with radiance, pride, love, so many emotions that were now overwhelming him due to her words.

"Exactly…exactly! I can't believe you understand…the life of a few to save many." Loki nearly tackled her, sucking, biting, and kissing every inch of her face. She burst into laughter, playfully pushing him off.

"Yes, now I must call my dad. I just hope he hasn't freaked out too bad." Loki looked a little sheepish.

"He probably hates me now." Britney rolled her eyes at the pout that came along with this statement as she turned her phone on.

"Oh my word…" Loki's eyebrows knitted together and he peaked over her shoulder.

"What?" Britney had one hundred and six missed calls and seventy text messages. Six of them were from Britney's dad and were very recent and the rest were all from Emily ranging from various times on various days.

"You don't think there is something wrong with either sets of twins do you?" Britney filled with terror and Loki put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Surely not, check the texts." Each and every text was also from Emily, all begging her to come home but being very vague as to why, all except for one. One text was from Michaela and it had been sent earlier that morning.

I told and told Emily not to bother you and she didn't listen, but I guess you have your phone off anyway since you haven't messaged back. But I pray you turn your phone on soon because I really need you. I finally can't take it anymore; I don't know how to fix Tony. I miscarried…need I say more? Get home soon, your family needs you. 

Britney's heart sunk and tears once again sprang to her eyes, her body beginning to shake.

"No…no, no, this can't happen! Not to Tony and Michaela, they're good people. How could…n-no!" Loki immediately enveloped her in his arms and pulled her tightly against him, allowing her to sob.

"Hush now fair one, hush. It's okay. It's j-just one of t-those things." He tried to sound convincing and strong for her but he couldn't lie, it got to him too. He'd grown fond of the man of Iron, and he couldn't help putting himself in his shoes. He grabbed Britney's bump and rubbed it extra gentle.

"Don't you ever do anything like that to Daddy, do you hear me? I would never be able to live with myself if something—" He had to stop, getting choked up and nuzzling his face into Britney's hair. It caught Britney off guard that Loki cared so much about Tony and Michaela's loss, and it only furthered her weeping.

"We have to go home, right now." Loki nodded.

"Yes. Do you want to see your father first?" He asked tenderly, wiping her tears away with the back of his hand.

"Are you in a hurry to die?" Loki scoffed playfully.

"No offence baby girl, but I'm a god. Your father wouldn't last ten seconds in a battle against me." Britney almost giggled, a smile threatening to break loose.

"No, no. Michaela and Tony come first, seeing Daddy can wait. Besides, no matter what you say I'd like to keep my husband a little longer." This time it was Britney who was being playful and Loki smirked, the mischief in each other's eyes mingling with one another.

"If this weren't such a serious situation I would flog you for that, now pack your bags, we're catching the next flight to New York. Oh and on our way to Stark Tower I'm stopping to get you some hair dye. I'm thinking a nice red, yes?" Britney grinned and dried some more stray tears from both her and Loki's face before getting up.

"Whatever you want, I want." Loki nodded again.

"Good, glad we agree." He teased, kissing her lightly and helping her with her bags. While Loki was sad that their vacation was cut a little short, he was even sadder for his friends back home that were experiencing the unthinkable. He prayed to he didn't even know who that they'd make it through somehow, and that maybe, even though they had their differences, he could help Tony through this. After all, he had promised to start being a better person, right?

Once back in New York, they picked up the pregnancy-safe hair dye (two containers, since Britney remembered Emily saying she always wanted to be a red head) and headed straight to the Stark's. Emily answered the door and yanked Britney immediately into an embrace as best she could, their bellies getting in the way.

"Where have you been! I've been so worried, I called you like a bazillion times!" Loki snorted.

"Not an understatement either. Pardon me, Maiden, but I made Britney turn her phone off. You know, interruptions would have been a nuisance. You're lucky she asked to call her father or we wouldn't even be here now." Emily released Britney and she put her hands on her hips, eyes narrowing into slits.

"Um, she doesn't have to ask your permission to do anything, certainly not to call her own father! And I don't appreciate the comment that you made her turn her phone off, you shouldn't be able to make her do anything, God Britney, grow some spine! What is feminism coming to?" Loki sighed and smiled genuinely at Emily.

"Oh how I've missed you, Lady Odinson." The fact that he seemed to mean it only made Emily madder.

"I am not 'Lady Odinson' I'm a Brooks, thank you very much, no man is going to tie me to him in such ways, and I don't appreciate that assumption. Now get in here and stop being a jerk." Loki gasped playfully.

"So you're not going to marry my brother?" Emily sputtered a bit and her expression warped into panic.

"I-I um…well, I wasn't gunna say it like that but…I don't know. God you're so annoying today, just get in and comfort Tony he practically hasn't bathed!" Loki suddenly became very concerned and both he and his women ran inside the building. They were running up the stairs quickly, the last thing Emily said hardly reaching their ears.

"And when you're done I have a bone to pick with you about all the people you murdered last year!"

Britney and Loki could hardly believe their eyes when they walked into Tony's machine room. There was a potent stench in there that would have gagged a piece of horse dookey and he was a greasy unshaven mess.

"Get your goddamn machine and go, it's done." He hissed coldly at the sight of the couple. Britney flinched and Loki turned to his wife, rubbing her arms soothingly.

"Why don't you go see Michaela? I think I need to speak with Tony alone?" Britney nodded in understanding and exited the premises without argue, fearing greatly for Tony's mental health.

"So…what are you working so diligently on over there if the machine is done?" Loki asked curiously, walking closer to the disillusioned man. There was no answer.

"The trip to Greece was lovely, thank you for your generosity." He added, carefully studying the shorter man's face as he spoke, looking for any sign of emotion. Once again, there was silence.

"Look, Stark, I just want you to know that I'm sorry, and I truly acknowledge your-" Tony had finally had enough, dropping his tools and standing to face Loki.

"You acknowledge my what? My pain?! You don't know what pain is! You're wife is practically glowing, so round and happy and healthy in her pregnancy! So is Emily! You don't know what it's like to have your child die and it all be your fault. But I do, and that's why I'm working on a model of machinery right now that will rip my arch-reactor straight from my chest and lodge that confounded piece of shrapnel into my heart. I need to be with Isen…I need to…I need to tell him I'm sorry I was such a failure. You'd think Iron man could protect a fetus the size of a fucking seed." Tony's eyes were dead and it honestly scared the living shit out of Loki, so he did what any sensible man would do. He smacked him.

"How dare you! I don't know how or why Michaela miscarried but right now I don't care. How selfish is a man that ends his life and leaves his already grieving wife a widow? You lost something very precious, I understand that, but Michaela lost something too. She probably thinks you hate her right now for miscarrying your child, when's the last time you spoke to her? Thought so, and all you are going to do is increase her pain by estranging her, that makes you husband of the year! I know plenty pain, Tony, my father hates me, I lived in my brothers shadow all my life and I have to live with the fact that my actions break my mother's heart every time I look her in the eyes. I'm ashamed to be alive, I often wish I'd died before I was ever adopted, and you know what? Losing a child would be the final nail in my coffin too, it would, if I didn't love my wife as much as I do. But I do love her, more than anything, and no matter my misery or how dead I ever become inside I have to keep fighting for her. That's what she deserves. Michaela deserves that too." Loki turned to walk away, hot tears stinging his eyes and a fire seemed to explode inside of Tony.

"Goddamn it Loki, come back!" Loki turned, a tired look on his sullen face. He was so sure this would turn in to a fight. However, Tony's expression mirrored the god's, and he simply ran and fiercely pulled Loki against him, crying into the taller males chest. Loki patted Tony on the back, the initially awkward moment melting into a sweet one as Tony finally let it all out. Loki rested his chin atop Tony's head as he sometimes did to Britney, attempting to ignore the grease and the horrendous smell.

"It's okay, Tony. I know it hurts, and I know it's hard to allow things to crumble before your wife. I understand the need to feel strong for her, this is why you need friends." Tony sniffled and let out a weak laugh.

"Since when do you have friends?" Loki sighed, not angry, but not particularly playful feeling either.

"I don't. But Thor's always been a shoulder to cry on, no matter how much I hate to admit it." Loki and Tony both soaked in their melancholy for a while longer, still embracing one another, until Tony finally pulled back and smiled.

"Well count your lucky stars, you just earned your first friend." Loki couldn't help but laugh.

"And you yours, man of Iron. Now go, your women needs you. Actually no, go shower, and then your women needs you." He added, his expression never once fading from the tender one he'd dawned when holding Tony. Loki emerged from the machine room, the machine Tony had built for him in tow. He laid it next to the door and approached Britney, Michaela and Emily with a chipper smile.

"Fixed him." Michaela's eyes brightened, pulling away abruptly from Britney, who had been cradling her.

"You what? How?" Loki just shrugged.

"Don't worry about that, man's business, you just need to worry about running into his arms when he walks down those stairs." Michaela beamed and flung her arms around Loki.

"Thank you so much!" While Britney had been comforting Michaela, Emily had been in the other room cleaning up around the house when she stumbled across a plastic CVS bag. Next thing everyone knew she was barreling in excitedly with the two containers of hair dye.

"Britney! Britney you know I've always wanted to be a red head!" Britney burst into laughter.

"I know, Emily. That's why I bought two things of it. I hope 'copper' is okay, I thought fire engine was too much." It was almost as if Emily hadn't heard her.

"Is it pregnancy safe?" Loki scoffed from across the room.

"Of course!" Emily's expression contorted further than it already had into a mischievous leer.

"Can we not tell Thor it's the safe kind? He's been getting on my nerves so bad…I want to wig him out." Loki grinned.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" Emily rolled her eyes and turned her nose up.

"Ew. Come on Britney, let's get in the bathtub, I'm so excited!" Britney beamed, so pleased that her best friend was happy after the two months she'd just endured, and held out her hand.

"Let's!"

Meanwhile, whilst Britney and Emily were upstairs dying their hair and Tony had finally come down and swept his wife off her feet, there was a knock on the door. Loki took the liberty of answering it, leaving Tony and Michaela to themselves. There was a blonde couple at the door, bright eyed and bushy tailed as ever. Loki put his head in his hands.

"Oh fantastic, Super Soldier, what a surprise." He said dully, not really excited to see the first Avenger for the first time since they fought.

"What are you doing here, Loki? I pray that Thor has you on a leash, otherwise I may need to have a word with director Fury." He shot him a tight lipped smile and Tony appeared behind Loki.

"Loki's a friend, Steve, calm down. Now you and my sister can either come in and shut your mouths or leave." Steve's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Wouldn't put it past a guy like you to mingle with the enemy. I really should report you, but my wife wouldn't allow it." Tony laughed but didn't smile.

"Guess I'm lucky I found out I was adopted and Ariel was my parents real daughter, if she didn't like me so much we'd have a problem you and I." Steve narrowed his eyes.

"We already have problems, Stark, and Ariel has nothing to do with any of it." There was an awkward silence before the door was finally shut and Tony smiled sarcastically at Loki.

"Hey Loke, do me a favor and escort the science experiment to the main foyer, I need to have a word with Thor." Loki nodded and ushered Steve and Ariel away, Tony growling towards the hallway that lead to the bedroom Thor was currently occupying. He knew he had something to do with this. He marched himself to the fourth bedroom closest to the stairs and hissed "Hey you little blonde dick, your wife is dying her hair." That was all that needed to be said to get vengeance, as Thor flew from his bedroom and up the stairs yelling 'Maiden no!'. Tony had heard Thor and Michaela talking about inviting his sister over to comfort him, but how dare they invite her scum-bag husband along for the ride. Tony and Steve's relationship had deteriorated quickly after he hooked up with Ariel, enough said.

Upstairs, Thor's fit was spiraling as he walked in on Britney and Emily in the bath together. Under normal circumstances two pregnant women would never fit in a bathtub together, but Tony's bathtub was pleasantly huge. It reminded Britney of the pool in Greece.

"Maiden, you can not just put chemicals on your pregnant body, you going to cause our babies to grow gills! And why must you gather in the nude to do this harmful ritual? And with another female that is heavy with child? Loki is going to be ill with Lady Laufeyson, he already distrusts Midgardians anyway!" Britney couldn't help but look smug.

"Well according to Loki I'm not Midgardian so…" Then it suddenly hit her that she was naked.

"LOKI! YOUR BROTHER IS A PEEPING TOM!" She screeched, Thor's face turning beet red.

"N-No…y-you misunderstand my intensions!" It wasn't but twenty seconds later that Loki was in the room.

"Get out now! That is for my own eyes only! Out, NOW!" He barked, though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't fighting a smile. Thor backed out quickly and his eyes were brimming with tears.

"But brother, the chemicals…and I wasn't looking at your beloved, I swear…I only have eyes for one woman, and I truly think she hates me right now. She didn't even ask me if red was a color I liked…" Loki's heart gave way and he laughed apologetically, putting a hand on Thor's shoulder.

"Do you think I'd let my wife dye her hair with unsafe material? I'm the one who wanted her to change her hair color in the first place. They're using the safe kind, calm down. As for not knowing if you like red, you picked the wrong girl if you wanted her to come and check with you first. She does what she wants, she's like me. Deal with it." Thor thought about this for a moment.

"Is Britney like that too?" Loki shook his head.

"No, my girl is shy and passive. It's okay though, we compliment each other's personalities. She wants me to make the decisions, I like to make the decisions. I'd never truly make her do something she didn't want to do though, because I love her, but we have a pretty good system set up. I'm just glad she married a guy like me and not someone who'd take advantage of her indecisiveness and submissive nature. I'd kill anyone who tried. She's too sweet and lovely a girl to be hurt in that way." Thor seemed to think this over for a moment before shaking his head.

"I wouldn't want Emily to be like that, I'm glad that she's independent and strong…I just, I just sometimes wish that she needed me a wee bit more. Just a little. I want to cuddle with her the way we did before she got pregnant." Loki's eyebrows knitted together.

"She's not crazy horny?" Thor sputtered.

"I don't see how that's any of your business!" Loki rolled his eyes.

"I'm just saying, Britney has been like a burning ball of passion ever since she officially entered her second trimester. Have you tried to be sweet or intimate with Emily?" Thor looked down sadly.

"Well yeah…I mean, for a long while there was too much going on with finding out she was pregnant, her being kidnapped, your wedding…and now this. I've made advances here and there but she's more worried about Tony than anything else." Loki smirked and popped his brother on the back.

"Excuses, excuses! Emily might be independent but every woman likes a little spontaneous love, you crawl in bed with her at night and you stick your hand right where she likes to be touched and you squeeze. Don't ask, don't wait for the right moment, just do it. Her body will react, believe me. Hold her, tell her you love her, whisper to her about how her new body turns you on, for god sakes it isn't rocket science, be a man!" Thor blushed.

"Well we've only had sex once…" Loki's face fell into utter shock.

"You…you've only…Thor. Thor Búri Odinson you are a woman! No wonder she isn't pleased with you, you don't bother to please her! Go, go sex her now!" Thor was so startled by Loki's outburst that he ran back into the bathroom a scooped a flailing Emily into his arms, bolting for their room.

"Thor, Thor stop it! Unhand me!" Thor beamed and chuckled heartily.

"It is alright my angel, I understand what you want now!" And with that he threw her on their bed and slammed the door behind him.


	19. Family Reunions

Later that night, while Tony dealt with his sister and brother in law, Loki decided it was a good idea to finally make that visit to Britney's family. Emily followed suit, taking Thor to see her father for the first time since he broke his hand on the God's rock hard abs. To say that the four of them were nervous was an understatement. Britney knew her father was going to be incredibly pissed off, and she honestly didn't want him to hate her husband. So when Loki grabbed on to Britney and teleported them to North Carolina, she became quickly sick to her stomach.

"You alright, my love? You've gone pale." Loki asked gently, nipping lovingly at her neck from behind and sneaking his arms around her waist. She moaned lightly and let out a small sigh, staring intently at her father's familiar back door.

"I can't do this…I'll be sick." Britney whimpered, feeling comforted by the large hands of her husband rubbing her swollen abdomen in soothing circles.

"Hush, now. Everything is going to be alright, if we could handle my father and his threats against our baby, we can surely handle this." She wasn't so sure, her father was nothing short of scary when he was angry, and just because Loki could handle that, didn't mean that she could. Nevertheless, Loki knocked on the door three times and waited patiently on the porch, a friendly smile plastered on his face that he'd been saving just for her father. When he walked to the door, Mr. Erhardt's face turned beet red as he ripped the screen door open and wrapped his hands quickly around Loki's neck.

"I could kill you! You paraded my daughter around like some sort of trophy at your wedding and I thought, oh he must really love her! But no, no it's evident now that she was your trophy, your golden 'I got away with it' prize, huh?! Well not anymore, my daughter is coming inside this house right now and we'll be sending you divorce papers as soon as we can get a lawyer, do you understand me?" Loki didn't struggle or fight back against Mr. Erhardt's choke hold, for fear of hurting him, and managed a mildly polite expression.

"I understand your anger, sir, but I believe it would be immoral to separate a baby from their father, wouldn't it?" Britney's father's eyes left Loki's face for only a moment, looking sadly on his pregnant daughter before tightening his grip on the God.

"You don't deserve that baby, it will be better off. Britney Alaine, get inside." He barked, a little of the shine behind Loki's eyes dimming. His face was full of patience and determination, but Britney could see in his emerald pools the guilt manifesting itself there. Her father had prodded at one of Loki's worst fears and it wasn't a bit fair. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at her dad with a look that could have killed.

"No. Loki is my husband, and nothing he did during the attack on this realm is going to change the way I feel about him. I won't leave him, Daddy, I love him, and I know he loves this baby. If you think for a moment I am going to allow anyone to take this away from him you've gone mad, this is all he's ever wanted." For a moment Britney's father looked stunned, as if he couldn't believe she had just defied him for the first time in her life.

"Excuse you?" The two blinked at each other for a few moments before Britney regained her slipping courage and placed her hand on her father's arm.

"You heard me, now let him go." Mr. Erhardt was stronger than Britney by many moons and it didn't take much effort on his part to swat her hand away and grip her wrist tightly.

"And you heard me. Get inside." Britney shook her head and winced in pain at the near impossible tightening of his fist around her arm.

"You're hurting her." Loki's voice was quiet, but his tone highly suggested his words were a warning as his emerald eyes darkened and narrowed. Britney's father would have done well to heed said warning, though it was clear that it wasn't going to happen as he continued to badger her about defending a psychopath. One whimper escaping from her paling lips marked the end of Loki's patience. He grabbed Mr. Erhardt's arms and forcefully pried his hands from his own neck and from his lover's wrist, pushing his father-in-law into the screen door and pinning him there.

"Sir, I don't want to hurt you, that is the last thing I want to do. However, I urge you to think twice about laying another hand on your daughter. Touch her like that again and I'll make you wish you hadn't." Mr. Erhardt's face filled with mockery.

"Or what, you'll kill me too?" Loki shook his head matter-of-factly, a dark expression crossing his already pained demeanor.

"No, I could never do that. She loves you too much. But I'm not afraid to bloody that face, and believe you me, you don't want to be hit in the face by a God." Loki released him after that, bending to kiss the red and bruising patches on his wife's arm.

"We'll leave now. Hopefully our next encounter will be a more joyous one." Mr. Erhardt tried to protest but Loki knew the expression on Britney's face well, she was on the verge of bursting into tears, and he quickly zapped them back to New York before her father had the chance to see.

Meanwhile, Thor and Emily were also staring at a backdoor in North Carolina. Thor was highly optimistic about visiting his loved one's parents, but Emily on the other hand, was absolutely terrified.

"Thor, I'm telling you, if my father doesn't kill you my brother will. I am four months pregnant with twins and we never told anyone…" Thor shot her a dashing smile and laid a large hand on the small of her back.

"Worry not, maiden. I have dressed in Midgardian clothes and my brother is nowhere to be found, how bad could it go?" Emily didn't answer as she nervously knocked on the door a few times, her step-mother, Kathy, answering quickly.

"Hel….what the fuck." Emily looked down at the floor and Thor grinned like an absolute madman.

"Ah, you know of Helheim. You must be a believer!" Emily turned her head slowly to glare at her boyfriend's innocent remark and Mrs. Brooks's face contorted into further confusion.

"Um…Mark?!" Two men responded to the call, one being the big man that Thor recognized as Emily's father, and another who was tall and holding a toddler. At the mere sight of her brother Emily attempted to hide behind Thor, knowing that this was in no way going to be pleasant.

"Um…hi bubba…" She whimpered as she watched her brother's eyes land and fixate on her largely swollen belly.

"Emily…is that…?" Emily's voice rose in immediate defense.

"Is that?" She demanded, pointing to the blonde-ish toddler still squirming in his arms.

"Rachel and I…you're never around so…uh…this is Cameron." Emily's face heated up and she turned her face from the rest of her family.

"You could have called." Mark's eyebrows rose.

"So could you." She grimaced and her lips quivered, and awkward silence falling upon the group for a good while before Thor decided to pipe up.

"Well…congratulations, Son of Mark, the fair haired one shall make a mighty warrior." Both Mark's turned to look at one another, the elder one shaking his head and rolling his eyes, muttering 'she ran off with a guy sick in the head…I told her not to.'

"He's not sick, Daddy, he's a god! Surely you remember now that Starks machine is finished, you have to!" Mr. Brooks, however, was not one to believe in things like Mythical gods, as a devout Christian, and anything involving the Avengers he chalked up to mere SHIELD experiments. Emily's brother seemed quiet for a few moments and then suddenly, without any warning he hauled off and sucker punched Thor as hard as he could. Thor looked stunned, but after a moment or two his blue eyes filled with concern as Mark cradled his now shattered hand.

"Why do you Midgardians insist upon breaking your bones against my divine body? Is it custom in this land?" Emily put her head in her hands and let out a cry. They were all positively helpless.

Back with Britney and Loki, Britney was laying on her old pink bed back in her old bedroom in New York and having a nice cry. Loki was curled around her, ranting to her about fathers and how all of them were utterly useless.

"I won't make that mistake. Your father can tell you all he wants that I'm a danger to our baby, he doesn't know me. He doesn't know hard is was to grow up the way I did. I would never impose as much as a discomfort upon our child. Sod him!" Britney sniffled and pushed her ice cold hands up Loki's shirt in an attempt at warming them.

"I know you won't, darling. I know." She whispered soothingly as he coiled his own hands around hers through the fabric of his shirt and rubbed gently.

"I don't know if a Jotunn is the right place to seek heat." He said with a gentle laugh, his grip on her hands tightening slightly. She laughed too and shivered a bit, she'd been getting colder as her pregnancy progressed, feeling as if she was frost-bitten from the inside out.

"I'm cold. Always cold." Loki kissed the top of her head and pulled her comforter up around them.

"I'm sorry, my love. Go to sleep, maybe a nap will help you to feel better." She shook her head.

"I'm not tired. Do you think we should call Emily? Her visit probably isn't going so well either." Loki shook his head.

"Now I don't want you worrying about them, we have our own problems." Britney seemed to think about this for a moment, opening her mouth to say something when she was suddenly struck by an idea.

"Take your clothes off." Loki's face lit up in surprise and a broad smile broke out across his face.

"Not tired indeed, you would think growing a person would drain you of some of this energy―not that I'm complaining." He uttered gently, leaning into her and nipping playfully at her neck.

"Just thought it would keep us warm." She said with a giggle, slipping in between Loki's legs and tugging at his pants. He laid back against a pillow and sighed contentedly, allowing her to undress him. Loki gasped when he felt her warm mouth around his shaft all of a sudden and hummed in pleasure.

"I'm lucky to have found such a Queen to worship me. It means more than any follower I could ever gain. I mean that." She peeked up at him and stopped for just a moment, their eyes locking in an intense share of emotion.

"I will always worship you. I always have, I prayed to you before I even knew for sure of your existence." Loki reached forward and caressed the side of her face.

"I know. I heard you." She was about to happily continue sucking him off when their bedroom door was suddenly thrust wide open and Natasha Romanoff walked in.

"Pull your trousers up, Loki, we need to talk."


	20. Natalia Romanova's Blowjob Adventure

Loki grunted in disappointment as he turned his head toward Natasha, a pout visible in his eyes. Britney quickly pulled her sheets up over Loki's lower half, pouting herself and hiding her embarrassment as she buried her face into Loki's neck. Natasha rolled her eyes and sighed, taking a seat on the foot of the bed and half-smirking at the couple.

"Not that it isn't totally laughable to find big bad Loki in this situation, but we have to talk about something really serious." He reached before him and pulled Britney back to lay on him, stroking her hair as he shot challenging eyes at Natasha.

"Serious? What in these Nine Realms could possibly be serious enough to warrant Agent Romanoff to visit the house of the damned, hmm?" Natasha glared back at him, her jaw set and her shoulders rigid.

"I'm not here to fight. I consider what happened between us in the past forgotten, so long as you help me get what I need. More specifically, if your wife helps me get what I need." Loki rested a protective hand across Britney's stomach, never breaking eye-contact with Romanoff.

"What do you want?"

"It's about Tony. He and I…well, let's just say that I care about him, alright? And I'm worried that something horrible might be happening to him." Loki scoffed.

"Well yes, generally one might consider the death of ones infant to be horrible." Natasha's face turned red and she raised her voice.

"That's not what I meant!" Loki's face only grew more taunting and twisted into an expression he was glad Britney couldn't see, it was a mirror of the one he'd worn the last time he and Agent Romanoff had exchanged words, when he'd told her just how intimately he was going to make Hawkeye kill her.

"And here I thought it was Agent Barton who held your affections. Have you spread your legs for all the Avengers? I may just have to have a word with Emily about Thor…" Natasha's eyes were filled with absolute rage, and Britney half expected her fiery red hair to actually smoke.

"Never mind, we're done here, this was a mistake." She began to stalk from the room when Britney quickly called out to her, sliding off of Loki and giving him a stern glance.

"Natasha, wait, please. If Tony is in any danger I would like to help in any way I can." Romanoff looked wearily from Britney to Loki and then back again, her heavily guarded sea green orbs asking a thousand questions.

"Are you sure your master will allow it?" She barked, Britney flinching a bit as Loki rose up off of the bed in anger. Britney held her hand up to stop Loki from approaching, though she never looked back at him.

"Keep my husband out of this, or you and I are going to have some problems. Otherwise, I'll do what I can to mend whatever situation has you so scared." Natasha's face filled with awe and confusion, shaking her head a couple of times.

"Scared?" Loki chuckled quietly, though he still felt a little bit scolded.

"My wife is extremely perceptive, Natalia. You can't hide emotion from her, I've tried." Natasha seemed to think about this for a few moments, nodding toward Britney's door.

"Can we speak in the foyer? You can bring…him if he promises to keep his mouth shut." Loki didn't give Britney a chance to answer, making a gesture as if he were locking his mouth with an imaginary key.

"My lips are sealed." Britney reached back and took Loki by the hand, squeezing it gently as if to apologize for stepping above his authority earlier. Loki wasn't angry, albeit a little surprised, and squeezed back as they entered the living room and sat down with Natasha on the couch. The three of them sat in silence for a while, looking around awkwardly as if trying to search for the right words within the walls of the old apartment. It was Loki who spoke first.

"Is Stark in immediate peril?" Natasha shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, maybe. I can't be positive when it is that she is planning to attack." Britney cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"She?"

"Michaela." Both Britney and Loki seemed to tense at the sound of her name, expressions of denial and concern melting into their demeanors. Natasha let it sink in for a little bit before continuing.

"Steve was not one hundred percent honest with you when he and Ariel came to visit Tony after they lost Isen. While it's true that Ariel wanted to make sure her brother was alright, they had much, much more on their agenda. Steve needed to observe Michaela's actions and behaviors after the loss of the baby, because for a long while Steve and I had been doing thorough investigations on her. She claims that she had been living in an apartment not too far from here when Loki attacked the city, but she would never disclose an address, never let Tony come over for dates before they were married, we thought something was up. After they lived together in peace for such a long time though…we kind of let it go, that is, until she lost the baby." Britney felt a little offended for her friend, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"And what's so strange about losing a baby? Twenty percent of all pregnancies end in miscarriage, Natasha." This seemed to immediately catch Loki's attention, striking a fear in him that he tried to swallow quickly before anyone noticed.

"It's not the miscarriage itself that is strange. Neither one of you were here when it happened, you don't understand. Tony immediately locked himself away after the funeral, his heart was completely and utterly broken. But Michaela…honestly…she put up a good front for the funeral, but the day after she was out getting mani pedi's and shopping with Tony's credit card, I would know, Steve and I watched her. At first we were watching to make sure she was going to be okay and not drive herself off a cliff or something…but my god, the only time she shed one damn tear over that baby was when people were watching. Had Emily and Thor eating out of the palm of her hand! So Steve and I continued our investigation and located her old apartment."

"What did you find?" The couple shouted simultaneously, the tension in the room rising to an almost unbearable level.

"Listen closely, because this may not be easy for you to hear or understand at first. Michaela Todd never existed, her name is an alias. Did it never occur to you that someone from Jotunheim would have a less American sounding name? Well, we did some digging within SHIELD's databases and found out that Mrs. Stark has a pretty large file. Her full listed alias is Michaela Tirrgra Todd, or Michaela Tirrgra Stark after their wedding in the fall of last year. Her real name, however, is coded in the database as Margareta Lidchdottir. Does that name sound familiar to either of you?" Britney shook her head no, but Loki's eyes narrowed into slits.

"Not her name…but her surname…daughter of Lidch. I only know of one man called Lidch. He is legend in Asgard for his heroism after dying for the love of a Frost Giant. He was a Swedish Midgardian man who fell for the royal midwife of Jotunheim, no one really knows how the two met. He was beheaded publically by my biological father sometime after I was adopted. The story goes it was due to Laufey's outrage at the midwife that his son had been stillborn, but we all know that's not true." Loki growled bitterly, earning a caress of the face from his wife, whom he nuzzled in to.

"Michaela told me all that when she told me she was half. She told me about how her mother had left you for dead in a temple at the behest of your father. When she left to go upstairs with Tony I cried…I'm so sorry." Britney whispered, Loki gently pressing his forehead against hers.

"It's not your fault my love." Natasha's eyes looked so sorrowful, and almost jealous as she watched the display of intimacy between the two.

"How would you respond…if I told you I felt for Tony the way you feel for Loki? That I always have?" She asked quietly, a look of sudden understanding washing over Britney's features.

"Then I'd say you need to tell us what you found right now so we can make things right." Natasha seemed to think carefully for a moment before replying.

"Alright, but we cannot tell Fury, do you understand me? He is going to go ballistic when he finds out." Britney snorted and folded her arms tightly across her chest.

"We are no friends of Nick Fury, we have no reason to be in contact with him." This made Loki smirk, though Natasha's eyebrows rose in surprise at the bitterness in Mrs. Laufeyson's voice.

"Okay then…well…Steve and I found a lot of Nazi propaganda in Michaela's apartment, which made a lot of sense when we hacked into her computer. Turns out she is an active member of a terrorist organization known as Hydra that was formed to provide advanced science and technology to the Third Reich in Germany during World War II. The further Steve and I looked into her encrypted information the more terrible things we found…including the fact that Hydra has infiltrated SHIELD since its conception…which means we've basically all been working for the enemy this whole time." While Agent Romanoff looked both disgusted and heart-broken at the very idea that she's been lied to and manipulated all this time, both Britney and Loki were fighting the satisfied laughter bubbling in both of their chests. Loki wanted to say it, oh did he want to say I told you so. However he pitied the look on Black Widow's face and took a deep breath.

"What can we do? Is she planning to take Stark down?"

"Yes, that appears to be the plan. She wanted to get in with one of the Avengers to take us down from the inside, and Tony was an easy target. He flirts with anything with two legs, and she's exceptionally beautiful. She had him under her spell in a matter of days. I'm assuming the entire point of her becoming pregnant in the first place was to get Tony attached and then rip his heart out. I think the miscarriage was planned, I think she played on Hawkeye's emotions after I left him, lied to him. I broke it off without really giving him a reason, because I didn't want to admit to anyone I had feelings for a married man. But somehow, it got into his head that I left him to be with a woman. I think she told him that to provoke him, and everything just sort of worked out in her favor. Bruce told me the night of the accident she was acting really shady." Britney suddenly felt very betrayed, having confided in this woman.

"Well it's working. Clint's in jail and Bruce retreated back to India in shame and remorse for what happened to Isen. Two down, four to go." Natasha nodded solemnly.

"I know." Everyone grew quiet once more, Loki deciding to rub Britney's shoulders as he sensed that she was distressed. While he massaged her he thought about his brother and Emily, wondering for how long they would be safe.

"I have a family to protect, Natalia. My brother and possibly his girlfriend and children are at risk. How do you suggest we stop her without destroying what is left of Anthony Stark, because she cannot be allowed freedom any longer."

"That's where your wife comes in. I need her to go and see Tony's sister, she is the only one who is going to be able to help us. We need her to talk Tony off a ledge while we take care of the Mrs." Both Britney and Loki exchanged a look of confusion.

"Can't Steve do that? He's her husband after all….or why not you?"

"Steve is mostly a brave man, but if I'm being honest he is kind of a pussy when it comes to his wife, okay? He's scared she'll have a nervous breakdown and lose their baby or something, but she needs to know, and she definitely needs to help us. As for me, Ariel and I don't really get along. She's got it in her head that I'm attracted to Steve." Loki laughed out loud and shook his head at the agent.

"I knew I liked you…Roger's is sort of a pussy, isn't he?" Natasha attempted to suppress the smirk stretching across her face and rolled her eyes at the God.

"Oh just shut up and put some pants on, we need to leave."

**Author's Note:**

> all characters belong to Marvel except for OC's


End file.
